Alterations
by 10Blue10
Summary: APOLOGIES FOR THE INCONVENIENCE, BUT THIS STORY HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY CANCELLED :(
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

A/N: My first attempt at a self-insert fanfiction, in my own eyes, didn't turn out that well. This is the second attempt, which will hopefully be much tighter and more polished. I have named it 'Alterations' because a) I'm altering the original, and b) the characters I introduce are going to be altering the timeline of the show, albeit not drastically.

So without further ado…

Alterations 

Prologue 

It was a beautiful, sunny day in London; at least, it would have been beautiful if it weren't crowded, dirty and boring. So it seemed to Charlotte Richards, who had come with her best friend Laura Seamer and their mothers to the Doctor Who Experience. They were on their way back to the hotel after hours shopping, visiting museums, and so on…Charlotte was very much looking forward to relaxing with some lemonade and her iPad.

The heat and her tiredness must have been messing with her head; she kept seeing things out of the corner of her eye, like a horse drawn carriage or an old fashioned store, only to look over and see a bus or a Boots. Laura noticed her frowning and asked in concern, "Are you alright, Charlotte?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm just overtired".

"Oh, okay. Come on, we'd better catch up with them" said Laura, looking ahead to their mothers Jenna and Sue. The two of them hurried to catch up, walking quickly towards a patch of shimmering air. Believing it to be a heatwave, Charlotte and Laura strode right through – and felt the ground drop out from under them. Sue looked over her shoulder to hasten the pair along, only to frown worriedly when she saw no sign of them in the crowd. "Charlotte?! Laura?!"

/

Charlotte gasped in shock, first at the sensation of falling and then at the sensation of landing in something _very cold._ Disoriented, she scrambled to her feet and pulled Laura up with her, both of them shivering violently. "Where…how…what…w-where are we?" Laura asked through chattering teeth, the light cotton of her blouse doing nothing to protect against the biting chill of the wind.

Day had turned to night, warm sun to freezing snow. A wrought iron lamp-post nearby, under which they huddled in the hope of deriving some warmth, and the cramped, terraced houses around them, seemed to point to one impossible conclusion. "I th-think w-we're in t-the past" Charlotte managed to reply; she was fervently wishing she had ignored her mother's advice to not bring a jacket. Then she realised, her mum – their families – they would never know what happened….

"H-how?"

She was confused, and scared, but Charlotte had always been the practical sort. "We g-gotta get w-warm, f-find an inn…or something" she bit out. They trudged down the street, peering at the darkened houses in the hope of spotting a light on somewhere. Charlotte looked at her watch after they'd walked down at least ten streets – only to realise it was still stuck in modern time, and telling her it was two in the afternoon when it quite clearly wasn't.

A clatter up ahead made them jump and freeze. A man stumbled into view, dressed in clothes that Laura, who had a bit of an interest in history, recognised as Victorian. He was also swaying slightly, and quite clearly drunk. Charlotte slowly reached out to tug Laura away, hoping they could sneak off and double back around, but the drunk looked up and spotted them. He leered and moved towards them. "Well, well, well; wot do we 'av 'ere?"

Laura and Charlotte both started backing away as the intoxicated man advanced. "Aww, don' be scared, luv, I ain't gonna hurt ya…much" he slurred. If they really were in the past, then by this time period's standard Charlotte and Laura were practically naked – it didn't take a genius to figure out what the drunk probably thought he could do with them. Charlotte slowly, without taking her eyes off the man, began to crouch down.

"Ooh, you're kneeling! I like it. Never had a pretty young thing like you kneel down to-pfft!" he spluttered as a handful of snow was thrown right in his face. Charlotte and Laura were already running for their lives down the street; the man snarled and gave chase.

Around the corner, Charlotte spotted an alleyway and darted into it, followed by Laura. They pressed their backs against the wall in the shadows, holding their breaths and each other's hands. The drunk ran past them, and for a moment it seemed they'd escaped…but then Laura sneezed, and he heard it. The pair didn't dare to even move, as the man eyed the alley suspiciously.

He took a few steps towards them; their hearts thudded in their chests in fear of being discovered. Suddenly a scrawny alley cat ran past them and between the man's legs, making him jump and curse. To their immense relief, he seemed to believe the sneezing sound had actually been the cat; spitting on the ground, he wandered off. Laura and Charlotte waited a few more minutes until they were sure he'd gone, before hurrying back the way they had come.

It occurred to Charlotte that if a drunk was wandering about, there must be a bar or an inn nearby; they came to where the drunk had first emerged, and found another alley, with an archway that led to a small yard behind a closed pub. It all seemed oddly familiar… "Cerise, look!" Laura gasped in surprise, pointing at the sign hanging by the door: 'The Rose & Crown'.

Wait a minute – a narrow street, an archway into a small square yard, a pub named The Rose and Crown? Charlotte and Laura met each other's disbelieving gazes. "Y-you don't think…?"

"It's t-too cold to think" Charlotte decided; running had warmed them up a little, but they were horribly underdressed for this weather. She approached the door of the pub; fears of being sent away ran through her head, but she was desperate. Charlotte knocked as loudly as she could on the door, rubbing her sore knuckles afterwards. There was no sign of anyone coming, so Laura tried knocking.

This time they did hear latches sliding, and a voice huffing, "Alright, hold your horses, I'm comin'" – the door was pulled open, and the person inside raised a lantern to reveal a round face, dark brown hair and eyes creased slightly, in bewilderment or tiredness or concern, they couldn't tell. The woman standing before them was unmistakably Clara Oswald, and they could only gape in shock.

Clara, however, quickly ushered them inside. "You'll catch your deaths out there. What're you doing out there dressed like that?" she hissed at them once she'd locked the door. The pair glanced at one another, and Charlotte simply replied "Got robbed". It was the most believable answer she could think of, and Clara seemed to buy it. "Oh, I'm sorry. C'mon upstairs – but be quiet, okay, the landlord don't like to be woken up" she warned. They nodded in understanding and followed her upstairs, into a small bedroom with a wooden chest at the foot of the bed.

"There's some spare clothes in there" Clara nodded at the chest, "I think they should fit. I'll go and get you something hot to drink". She turned on her heel and left to let them get changed. Laura opened the chest and found some Victorian clothes within; they pulled on gowns that fit over their t-shirts and shorts or skirts, and found a Gladstone bag in which they could fit both their handbags.

The gowns were long enough to cover their trainers, something Charlotte was very glad about. There were a pair of women's boots in the chest as well, and the heels seemed ridiculously high; the last thing she needed was to be stumbling about in those things. She looked herself over and was satisfied that she was sufficiently covered up; then there was a soft knock at the door.

Charlotte looked at Laura, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring into space. She moved over to the door and opened it, seeing Clara holding the lantern in one hand and balancing a tray with two bowls of some sort of soup in her other arm. Charlotte quickly relieved her of it, smiling gratefully. "Thanks".

"You're welcome. Now, do you wanna tell me what's goin' on?"

 _I've no idea_ was Charlotte's first thought, as she put the tray down on a small table besides the bed. What she actually said was, "Um, I'm Charlotte, she's Laura" - They were Victorian names, right? "We um, we were travelling from Yorkshire to London, but…the carriage was attacked, by highwaymen. We just ran, we…we left our gowns behind so they wouldn't slow us down". Charlotte didn't really like lying, but it seemed necessary right now.

"You've got no money, then?"

Well, they had money – but it might not even be worth anything in this time. "Sorry…we'd pay you if we could" Charlotte replied, which wasn't really a lie.

"I don't mind; it's the landlord I'm worried about, but I'll talk to 'im. I'm Clara, by the way, Clara Oswald".

"Nice to meet you; and thank you, so much, for letting us in. I think…I think you might have saved our lives" Charlotte admitted. Really, she couldn't believe their luck in coming across Clara; it meant she could have a plan for what to do next, and how to get them home. Clara smiled and nodded, before leaving the two of them to their meal. Charlotte touched her hands to the bowl; they were warm to the touch, but not too hot, so she picked one up and offered it to Laura.

Her best friend made no move to take the bowl; Charlotte frowned worriedly and set it down again. "Um, Laura…are you okay?"

Laura's gaze snapped over to her, frowning. "No, I'm not" she declared, tears in her eyes. Charlotte sat down beside her and pulled her into a hug; Laura started to cry. "Shh, shh, it's alright" Charlotte murmured, rubbing her best friend's back comfortingly, "It'll be okay".

"N-no it won't!" Laura said stubbornly, pulling back to look at Charlotte with a reddened, tear stained face. "I don't like this, I…I want to go home!"

Charlotte felt her hearts break a little. "Me too…but I've got a plan, okay?"

"What?"

"Well, think about it. We just met Clara Oswald _,_ at the Rose and Crown, that means we haven't just travelled in time, we're in the _Doctor Who universe!_ That is pretty cool" she had to admit, and Laura nodded slightly in agreement. "If Clara is here, then the Paternoster Gang will be here too. The Doctor might even be around. All we have to do is find Madame Vastra, convince her to help us contact the Doctor, and then convince him to help us get home".

"But what if he doesn't want to?"

"I think he will just to get us out of his way…besides, at the very least he's bound to let us stay on board the TARDIS. I don't think he'd want a couple of time displaced humans from the twenty-first century wandering around the eighteenth".

"Um, it's the nineteenth, actually".

"Right...um, I don't suppose you remember which year 'The Snowmen' episode was set in, do you?" Charlotte asked hesitantly. Laura had quite a good memory for dates, and if they could recall which year it was set in, they would know how long they'd have to wait for the Doctor to get back in the game. Laura frowned in concentration, absently accepting a bowl of soup from Charlotte.

Judging by the greenish colour, it was pea soup, and a few sips confirmed this. It was really rather tasty, and Charlotte had nearly supped all of hers when Laura lowered her spoon and said hesitantly, "I think…it was 1892".

"Yeah…that sounds kind of familiar. Doesn't Madame Vastra live at 13 Paternoster Row?"

"I don't remember" Laura shrugged apologetically. Charlotte considered it and shrugged herself. "I suppose we can just ask someone" she mused, "…This is mad, isn't it?"

"Yeah…"

"Hey, I'm homesick as well" Charlotte put an arm around Laura's shoulders, "I hate to think how worried everyone is…but we know where we are, and tomorrow we'll find out when, and we can start finding a way home again. There's nothing we can do for now…let's just try and get some sleep, okay?"

Laura hesitated, and then nodded. They put the bowls of soup aside, pulled off their gowns and climbed into either side of the bed. Charlotte blew out the candle. "I hope Clara finds somewhere to sleep" Laura remarked as they tried to get comfortable, "I think this might be her bed".

"I didn't even think about that" Charlotte admitted, "But I don't think there's much we can do about it now. Let's just be grateful we aren't freezing out there on our own…goodnight, Laura".

"Goodnight, Charlotte" Laura smiled back, before closing her eyes. Charlotte kept hers open, lost in thought and trying not to cry. Their families would be so worried, and they had no way to contact anyone…she would be lost in despair if they were simply trapped in the past, not in the Whoniverse. It was insane…this sort of thing was supposed to only happen in fanfictions, not in real life. She doubted how well they would adapt to Victorian life…Laura might cope, but her? The thought was unnerving, to say the least. It was a long while before she fell asleep, and when she did, it was fitful.

/

Early next morning, Charlotte and Laura stood before the landlord, Bob Chilcott. They stuck to the story Charlotte had invented the night before; that the carriage they had travelled to London in had been attacked, and they had gotten lost in the city. "Where were you heading?" Chilcott inquired.

"Somewhere called Paternoster Row…our cousin lives there".

"Could you tell us where it is, please?"

"I'll have Clara call a carriage for you" Chilcott, before turning to the barmaid and declaring, "And since these young women can't pay for the food, board or a carriage, the money is coming out of your wages". With that, he left to get the inn ready for the guests who would soon be arising. Clara sighed, and Charlotte winced guiltily. "We're sorry about your wages…and taking your clothes" she apologised.

Clara gave them a small smile. "Don't worry...I can manage. Now then, what will you be having for breakfast?"

"Um…we don't want to trouble you any more than we need to…"

"Oh, it's no trouble" Clara assured them, "Besides it's too early for a carriage" she explained, "So, breakfast?"

"I'd like some breakfast" Laura remarked, "Um, what is for breakfast?"

"Porridge or bacon and egg"

"Mmm, bacon and egg would be very nice" Laura smiled, practically licking her lips; Charlotte added, "Uh, yes, thank you. Two plates of bacon and eggs, please". Clara nodded and showed them to a table in the corner of the bar, where they sat discussing what to tell Madame Vastra when they reached Paternoster Row. They decided that full disclosure would be the best approach…apart from anything else, neither of them wanted the Silurian to see them as enemies.

The inn must have been quite well-off; the eggs, bacon and tea were all of much better quality than they had expected. Indeed, Charlotte was starting to feel as if she might be able to adapt to this time period…she just hoped she wouldn't have to. After breakfast, Clara took them out to the street and hailed a carriage. She handed over some money and told the driver, "Take Miss Richards and Miss Seamer to Paternoster Row, there's a good man".

/

The carriage dropped them off at the end of the street; the girls thanked the driver, who tipped his cap at them and drove off. "Okay, I'm pretty sure it's number thirteen, so we'll try there first" Charlotte decided. They walked up the street, counting the door numbers until they arrived at the right door. It looked familiar, increasing their confidence a little; they stepped up and knocked on the door.

It was opened by a short, bald butler with no visible neck. "Can I help you, human scum?"

It took all of their self-control not to snigger at the Sontaron's unintentional humour. "Ahem – yes, we're here to see Madame Vastra. It's a matter of great importance" Charlotte replied, politely but firmly. Strax eyed them both suspiciously. "May I inquire as to who you are?"

"Charlotte Woods and Laura Thorpe, we're…relatives of Miss Flint".

Strax grunted and beckoned for them to follow him. "Wipe your feet, and do not attempt to escape or you will be swiftly dispatched. May I take your bag?" he asked, holding out stumpy arms towards Marina, who was carrying the Gladstone bag containing their belongings. "Um, no thank you".

"Wait here whilst I announce your presence" Strax instructed, before trudging off to find Madame Vastra. It wasn't long before he returned to show them into the conservatory, where Madame Vastra awaited them, Jenny standing beside her chair. Laura and Charlotte seated themselves opposite the other pair, and the Sontaron made himself scarce after a pointed look from his mistress which was clear even under her veil.

Madame Vastra sat back in her peacock chair and regarded the young women sitting before her with a cool stare. "It is most fortunate that you were able to find your way to your relative's house" she remarked, before looking up at her wife. "Tell me, my dear, do you recognise their names, or their faces?"

Jenny shook her head. "No ma'am; never seen 'em before in my life".

"How interesting…I would like to know why you thought it would be a good idea to lie to us?"

Laura and Charlotte looked at one another. _Here goes nothing_ thought Charlotte, taking a deep breath and replying, "Because we thought it would go over better than telling you we're from the future".

Vastra was visibly startled; Jenny even more so. "The future, really? Well I'll be blowed" – she frowned suspiciously, "'Ere now, 'ow do you know who we are? 'Ave you been spying on us?"

Laura opened her mouth to reply, only to quickly close it when Madame Vastra held up a hand. "I believe it will be necessary to give them the one word test" she suggested calmly.

"Of course, ma'am" Jenny nodded, before looking at Laura and Charlotte. "The madam will ask you both questions, one at a time. You need to restrict yourself to one word answers only, do you understand?"

They both nodded; they had practised during the carriage ride, answering each other's questions with just one word, in case Vastra decided to test their trustworthiness. Madame Vastra turned to Laura first, and inquired, "The names you have given us, are they real, or aliases?"

"Real".

Then to Charlotte, "Did you intend to keep your true origins a secret?"

"No".

"How did you come to know of us?"

"Um, television"

"What's television?" This came from a rather confused Jenny. Vastra explained it was a device from the future that allowed one to see moving images, and then asked Charlotte, "You have viewed Jenny, Strax and I on this 'television' – do you do this regularly?"

"No".

"How is it that our exploits have appeared on your television?"

Laura hesitated, struggling to think of one word to sum it all up… "Acting" she replied finally.

"So others have taken our roles in the future, and allowed themselves to be…televised?"

Charlotte did understand why Madame Vastra wanted to give them the one word test, but it would take them ages to explain everything like this. So rather than reply straightaway, she reached up into her sleeve and pulled something off of her wrist, holding it up to show Madame Vastra. "Proof" she said simply, tossing it into the Silurian's outstretched hand.

The bracelet had come from the Doctor Who Experience – loose blue elastic with a small TARDIS charm hanging from it. Madame Vastra threw back her veil to stare at the little silver charm; Jenny looked over her shoulder, eyes widening. "But…that's the TARDIS. It looks just like the TARDIS" she said in bewilderment. Madame Vastra pulled her gaze from the bracelet to Charlotte and Laura, asking them, "Where did you get this? Explain everything".

"Well, um, we were in London for the weekend; see, um, we're not just from the future. Me and Charlotte, we're actually from a parallel universe. That's what I meant by 'acting' – people in our world have acted out some of your adventures with the Doctor, in episodes of a show called 'Doctor Who'. Charlotte and I are really big fans of it, we went to see the Doctor Who Experience and, and on our way back to the hotel, we…we somehow ended up here".

"Yeah, and can I just say, it's an honour to meet you. I bought the bracelet at the Experience, it's sort of an exhibition all about the show, and like Laura said, on the way home…we've no idea what happened, I thought I saw something strange but I assumed it was just a trick of the light, or that I was tired".

"Mm, I thought I saw some strange things as well".

"What? You could have mentioned that sooner; I'd thought I was going crazy!"

"Oh…sorry"

"S'alright; oh, um, if you're wondering where we got these clothes from, being from the future and all – I suppose you could say we were rescued by a…very generous young barmaid" Charlotte smiled thoughtfully. Then she cleared her throat and held her hand out towards Madame Vastra, saying "Um, can I…?"

"Oh yes, my apologies" she said, handing the bracelet back to Charlotte. She gave her wife a meaningful look; Jenny looked over at the two Whovians once more, before nodding. "Yes, I think so" Madame Vastra agreed, before turning to the time displaced pair. "You both seem very honest; I hope you can understand my caution, but I see no reason not to trust you. We have contact with the Doctor – but I must warn you, he is unlikely to help. He has…been hurt deeply".

Both Laura and Charlotte nodded in understanding. "Yeah, we…we know he lost the Ponds…um, that reminds me actually, what year is this?"

"It's the 29th of November, 1892, miss".

"Oh, uh, you can just call me Laura if you like".

"Yeah, and call me Charlotte…I know he might be a bit reluctant, but there's no harm in asking him, right?"

"True" Madame Vastra, "Very well, I will contact the Doctor post-haste. For now, would you like the privilege of a tour of our humble house?"

The two Whovians grinned excitedly. "We would love it" Laura announced, feeling very pleased. If she was right about the episode, this was the year that the Doctor got better, which meant he would help them, and they might just get home okay!

/

The tour of 13 Paternoster Row was fascinating (they skipped over the cellar, which Jenny explained was "a bit messy"), but the phone call to the Doctor was…less than productive. Charlotte suggested asking the Doctor to meet them both, since it might be harder for him to refuse help in person. Thus did the Paternoster Gang, Laura and Charlotte find themselves facing the Time Lord on a deserted street that same evening.

They had watched 'The Snowmen' episode, but seeing the Doctor in person, with dark clothes and a dark expression…Laura felt a little scared, and Charlotte was torn between being nervous and wanting to hug him. She settled for being nervous.

"Madame Vastra, Jenny, Strax…you wanted me to meet someone, I believe".

"Two someone's, actually; Doctor, these are the girls I told you about, the ones from another universe" Vastra gestured to Charlotte and Laura, who both waved with hesitant smiles on their faces. The Doctor didn't smile back. "It's nice to meet you…Madame Vastra told me this universe of yours has a television show about me?"

Laura nodded and explained, "Yeah, it's one of the best TV shows in the world, lots of us really love it".

"Well, I can't say I blame you" the Doctor admitted with a small smile, before inquiring, "But why did you ask for me to come here?"

"To ask you directly to help us return to our home universe" Charlotte replied, "I don't think it would be difficult; you just have to find the tear or whatever it was that we fell through, send us back through, and close it up behind us".

"To do that I'd have to travel into your universe, and the TARDIS would die"

"The last time that happened, one power cell survived – and besides, that's just one suggestion. I bet you could come up with a dozen other ideas".

There was a long pause. "I'll run some scans, see if any anomalies turn up" the Doctor said finally, and they sighed in relief; it was a start. "Thank you, Doctor" Laura smiled gratefully, before cautiously asking "Um, I don't suppose we could stay with you, in the TARDIS?"

The Doctor just looked at her. "I'd rather not have any company, thank you" he said curtly. Then he bid them goodnight and turned to leave.

"Merry Christmas"

He paused and turned his head slightly. "It's November".

"Well, early Merry Christmas" Charlotte amended, "It is special, after all".

"What's so special about Christmas?"

Charlotte smiled and replied, "It's halfway out of the dark".


	2. Chapter 2 - The Snowmen Pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

The Snowmen – Part One

Charlotte put her arm around Laura as her friend cried, wiping a few tears from her own eyes as well. "Don't cry…Laura, please don't cry" she pleaded, hugging Laura as tight as she could. Laura gulped and pulled a tissue out of her pocket; the two of them had abandoned their gowns and were sitting on the edge of Madame Vastra's guest bed. They had come back from an unsuccessful attempt to join the Doctor aboard the TARDIS, and Laura was despairing.

"I…I'm sorry" she sniffled, "I just…I'm scared".

"I know, so am I…but we're gonna be okay. You know that, right?"

"A-are you sure…?" Laura asked hesitantly. Charlotte sighed, and gave her a weak smile. "Of course I'm sure" she lied, "If you're right about the date, and you usually are, we'll only have to wait a few weeks before the Doctor goes in search of Clara – the modern Clara, I mean – and when we're travelling with him, we'll have a better chance of finding a way home…and what brought us into this universe in the first place".

"I guess…b-but what about our families, and friends?"

"…Laura, there's nothing we can do. We _will_ get home, I know we will, but life back home won't stop because we're not there. I hate to see it, but if we're away for a while, they're going to move on…I think the only thing we can do is…is do the same" Charlotte admitted. It hurt to admit that if enough time passed, their families would probably believe them to be dead, mourn them and move on…but she knew if they focused too much on home, on the past, they would get nowhere.

Laura swallowed hard and nodded. The pair sat quietly for a few moments, just absorbing everything that had happened. Charlotte cleared her throat and commented, "Um, we should probably help Jenny with chores and stuff…to earn our keep, y'know. Maybe…we could do a bit of exercise as well, get in shape for the outrageous amount of running we're gonna be doing" she suggested, playfully poking Laura in the stomach.

A smile quirked Laura's lips upwards. "Yeah…good idea; maybe Madame Vastra and Jenny could help train us" she suggested. Charlotte blinked as she considered this, and then winced. "I think we better hold off asking the women who wield swords like chopsticks to train us…I'm not sure we'd be able to keep up. Know thy limits, and all that".

"Hmm, that's a good point" Laura admitted…her expression grew thoughtful, and she slowly asked, "Hey, Charlotte? I think….I think we should talk to the Doctor".

Brow furrowed, Charlotte gave her best friend a questioning stare. "We just did try talking to him…it didn't really work" she pointed out with a huff of disappointment.

"I know, but…what if we're the ones who help him open up again? Help him get over the loss of Amy and Rory, like a therapist?"

"I wouldn't call it 'therapy'…but I guess, if he got to know us, he might decide to take us with him when he goes in search of the original Clara…"

"Yeah, exactly!"

"We'd have to be careful about what we talked about…but I bet you he's curious about the whole 'Doctor Who TV show' thing. Yeah….yeah, this could actually work. Nice one" Charlotte grinned, giving Laura a high five. Laura's grin faltered as she brought up another suggestion. "I err…I think we ought to spend a bit of time with Clara, as well".

Charlotte frowned…she didn't like where this was going. "Well, we _are_ going to be spending time with her, when she travels with the Doctor".

"I mean _this_ one, the Victorian version of Clara. I want to get to know her better".

"Laura, you _know_ why we can't! We know what happens to Clara this Christmas. She…she dies, I'm sorry, but we know it's true. Imagine how hard it would be to befriend someone we know is doomed…especially when we can't save her? We don't know how much of the timeline we can change, we're probably changing enough just by being here at all".

"I know, but…" Laura struggled to put her thoughts into words. "I just think...she deserves more. She's an echo of the modern day Clara, but she has her own life here…she sort of saved our lives in a way, I feel like…the least we could do is…is appreciate her" she explained at last. Charlotte looked at her friends saddened visage and groaned, burying her head in her hands. "Why is it so hard to say no to you? Okay…we'll get to know this Clara, but we have to make a pact, that we won't try to save her. I know it'll hurt, but we have to maintain the timelines as much as possible" she insisted.

Laura nodded emphatically in agreement; Charlotte took a deep calming breath, and held out her right hand. Laura placed her right hand on top of it, and one by one they declared, "I promise to not change the timelines".

Pact made, they prepared for bed…whatever happened, they'd get through this predicament, and they'd get through it together.

/

The Doctor strode through the snowy streets of London, one arm tucked around Charlotte's and the other around Laura's. "Isn't it odd that you look identical to Matt Smith?" Charlotte questioned out of the blue. She and Laura had told him all about the fictional programme that depicted some of his adventures, and about the actors who had played his various incarnations. He frowned at the non-sequitur and inquired, "What do you mean?"

"Well, Matt Smith is a human in one universe, and you're a Time Lord in a parallel universe. It just seems statistically improbable that you would look identical…I suppose I thought there'd be a few differences between you and him".

"I think the fact that we're different species is a rather large difference. It isn't actually statistically improbable for a human to exist in your universe who exactly resembles me…random chance doesn't cause every single iteration of something to be completely unique, and besides, if the same person exists in two parallel universes, they're unlikely to exist in the same form in both" the Doctor explained as simply as he could. "Understand?"

Charlotte nodded. She did understand…mostly. "I suppose that makes sense. Thanks for explaining it" she smiled at him, and he sighed.

"You're welcome" he replied. He'd been reluctant when they had first approached him, but really, they hadn't been asking for much, only conversation. He didn't want to admit it, but it was…rather nice to have company, who didn't try to engage him in the affairs of other people, but just wanted to ask him questions and spend time with him.

They took a shortcut through an alleyway to return to where Strax was waiting for them with the carriage. Charlotte and Laura had to hide grins when they recognised where they were. "Did you make this snowman?" Clara asked as they walked past her.

"No" the Doctor replied bluntly, walking on – only to pull up short when Clara added, "Well, who did? Because it wasn't there a second ago. It just appeared, from nowhere".

Curiosity piqued, the Doctor turned and walked up to the creepy looking snowman to examine it. Clara recognised the girls, and greeted them with a cheerful, "Laura, Charlotte! How 'ave you been?"

"Very well, thank you" Laura beamed at her. She was glad she'd gotten to know Clara…the young woman was much like her original, but different circumstances made her a slightly different person. For instance, this Clara had been raised as a Christian, and as far as they knew the modern Clara had no religious faith. As a Catholic herself, Laura really got along well with Victorian Clara; something that worried the ever practical Charlotte, who wondered how well Laura would cope with her new friend's inevitable death.

The Doctor looked up from examining the Snowman. "You know each other?"

Laura nodded and explained, "Clara here helped us when we…when we got lost in London a few weeks ago" she caught herself from the slip, remembering the 'official story' about their presence in this universe. "Clara, this is our friend, the Doctor".

"The Doctor? What sort of a name is that?"

"Oi!" the Doctor frowned, disgruntled. He shot a glare at Charlotte when she sniggered, but she ignored him and nodded at the Snowman. "So how'd you explain that?"

"Maybe it's snow that fell before. Maybe it remembers how to make snowmen".

"What, snow that can remember? That's silly" scoffed Clara.

"What's wrong with silly?"

"Nothing; still talking to you, ain't I?"

The Doctor eyed the Snowman suspiciously. "…You've got nothing to worry about" he declared at last, "It'll melt. Clara, was it?"

"Yes"

"Nice name, you should definitely keep it. Goodbye" he said bluntly, walking away to the carriage. Charlotte, Laura and Clara followed after him, the latter protesting, "Oi! Where are you going? I thought we was just getting acquainted".

"Those were the days" the Doctor said wistfully, before adding to Laura and Charlotte, "Come on, it's late. I'm taking you home".

They climbed into the brougham carriage with him. Vastra's voice emerged from a telephonic device attached to the inside roof…she sounded smug. "How refreshing to see you taking an interest again; Miss Seamer tells me your new acquaintance is rather nice".

"I just spoke to her".

"And made your usual impact, no doubt" Vastra commented. Charlotte couldn't resist quipping, "Yes, he did".

"No, I _didn't_ " he insisted, "No impact, none at all. Those days are over".

"You can't help yourself. It's the same story every time. And it always begins with the same two words".

The Doctor huffed in frustration. "Why would she be interested? She should just forget about me. It's bad enough she knows about these two, and my name, Doctor. What two words?"

Before Vastra could answer, there was a thud on the roof and Clara stuck her head through a hatch. "The Doctor, did you say?" she asked, as the Time Lord stared at her in bewilderment, "Doctor Who?"

/

Strax observed the mysterious GI Institute from a distance, whilst the Doctor examined the snow. Clara was locked inside the carriage, and he'd forbidden her friends from opening it…by threatening to wipe _all_ their memories. They hadn't looked too pleased with him for that.

"They've taken samples from snowmen all over London. What do you suppose they're doing in there?" Strax wondered. The Doctor scooped up a handful of snow and let it trickle through his fingers. "This snow is new. Possibly alien. When you find something brand new in the world, something you've never seen before, what's the next thing you look for?" he asked no-one in particular.

"A grenade!" Strax declared immediately…the Doctor stared at him.

"A profit" Charlotte answered, "Or a camera, but I'm not sure they've been invented yet".

"Profit" the Doctor nodded, "That's Victorian values for you".

"I suggest a full frontal assault with automated laser monkeys, scalpel mines and acid".

"…Why?"

"Couldn't we at least investigate?"

"It's none of our business".

"Sir, permission to express my opposition to your current apathy?"

"Permission granted"

"Sir, I am opposed to your current apathy".

The two Whovians snickered, and the Doctor rolled his eyes. "Let me out!" Clara shouted from inside the carriage, but he ignored her to say sarcastically, "Thank you, Strax. And if ever I'm in need of advice from a psychotic potato dwarf, you'll certainly be the first to know".

"But if the snow is new and alien, shouldn't we be making some attempt to destroy it? Be reasonable".

"Let me out!"

"It is not our problem" the Doctor insisted sourly, "Over a thousand years of saving the universe, Strax, you know the one thing I learned? The universe doesn't care".

Charlotte rolled her eyes at that. "Yes, you're right" she remarked, "The universe doesn't care about you, or me, or anyone else because in case you haven't noticed, it doesn't have a consciousness to care _with._ Doctor, think about it; if someone raised money for cancer research every year, and then someone they loved died of cancer, do you really think they'd just say 'Well, the universe doesn't care about me, my life sucks, might as well give up helping anyone ever again'? Of course they wouldn't!"

"Yeah, and besides, you didn't save the universe for the universe's sake. You saved it for the sake of ordinary people like us" Laura pointed out, putting an arm around Charlotte's shoulders. The Doctor pursed his lips; he could tell what the pair were trying to do, after centuries spent around humans he could read them like open books…but he remained stubborn as ever. "We're not discussing this now" he said firmly, "I've got my own problem to deal with".

Clara banged on the door of the carriage again. "-In this carriage!" she was shouting, "Oi, Doctor! Laura, Charlotte! Let me out!"

The Doctor unlocked the door, and Clara stumbled out. "Don't worry. No one's going to hurt you" he reassured her, but Clara was too busy staring at Strax. "What is that thing?"

"Silence, boy!"

"That's Strax. And as you can see, he's easily confused".

"Silence, _girl_ " the Sontaron corrected his mistake, before adding, "Sorry, lad".

"Sontaran. Clone warrior race. Factory produced, whole legions at a time. Two genders is a bit further than he can count".

"Sir, do not discuss my reproductive cycle in front of enemy girls. It's embarrassing".

"Typical middle child of six million" the Doctor quipped idly.

"Who are you?" asked Clara; he wasn't like any man she'd ever met before. Also…he was rather handsome…

"It doesn't matter because you're about to forget that you and I ever met" the Doctor told her solemnly, before turning to Strax and ordering, "We'll need the Worm".

"Sir" Strax saluted. Clara's eyes widened in alarm. "You'll need the what? The worm? What worm?"

"Don't worry, it won't hurt, but one touch on your bare skin and you lose the last hour of your memory" the Doctor explained. Clara frowned at him, and then at her friends when she realised they were trying to hold back laughter. "What're you-?"

"You'll see" Laura managed to get out, before covering her mouth with a hand. Both Clara and the Doctor eyed the pair oddly…then Strax returned, sans Worm. "Where is it?" the Doctor asked him.

"Where's what, sir?"

"I sent you to get the memory worm".

"Did you? When?" Strax asked blankly, before spotting Clara, who was starting to snicker herself. "Who's he? What are we doing here? Look, it's been snowing!"

"You didn't use the gauntlets, did you?"

"Why would I need the gauntlets?" inquired Strax…before asking conspiratorially, "Do you want me to get the memory worm?"

"You…!" the Doctor made a gesture as if to strangle the Sontaron, sounding incredibly frustrated. The three women burst out laughing.

/

A short time later, Strax was underneath the carriage, trying to find the escaped Memory Worm. "Well, can you see it?" the Doctor asked impatiently. The sooner they caught the Worm, the sooner he could wipe Clara's memory and send her back to her safe, boring human life.

"I think I can hear it!" the Sontaron declared. The Doctor heard a snigger behind him and pointed a warning finger at Clara. "Oi, don't try to run. Stay where you are".

"Why would I run? I know what's going to happen next and it's funny".

"That's the spirit" Charlotte grinned, "Learn as much as you can, then leg it. Reminds me of someone, not sure who…" she said mock-thoughtfully, catching the Doctor's eye. He looked away and asked Clara, "What's funny?"

"Well, your little pal, for a start" she replied, nodding at Strax's legs sticking out from under the carriage, "He's an ugly little fella, isn't he?"

"Maybe; he gave his life for a friend of mine once".

"Then how come he's alive?"

"Cos he didn't actually die" Laura remarked before the Doctor could answer, "The wound wasn't really fatal, he just fainted". At least, that was the explanation given by the little mini-sode 'Demons Run – Two Days Later'.

"How'd you know that?" Clara asked, confused. Laura hesitated, not sure how to reply…but luckily, Strax chose this moment to announce, "I can see it!"

"Ooh, can you reach it?" the Doctor asked eagerly, "Have you got it?"

There was a short, silent pause, and then… "Got what, sir?"

Smirking, Clara held up a pair of thick black gloves that had been left on the seat in the carriage. "Because these are the gauntlets, aren't they?"

"Sir, emergency! I think I've been run over by a cab!"

/

The Doctor donned the gauntlets himself and managed to get hold of the wriggling Worm, like a giant white grub. "There you go. One touch and you lose about an hour of your memory. Let it bite you and you could lose decades" he explained, getting it into a jar that Charlotte was holding out, her own hands protected by the gloves she was wearing. "Thanks" he nodded to her, making her smile.

"And you're still not trying to run" he commented, but Clara simply replied, "I don't understand how the snowman built itself. I'll run once you've explained".

"Clara who?"

"Doctor who?"

"Oh, dangerous question"

"What's wrong with dangerous?" Clara challenged playfully – but her smile soon faded when she spotted a Snowman forming by itself behind the Doctor. Laura and Charlotte spotted it as well, watching it warily. The Doctor remained oblivious, and began to explain, "The snow emits a low level telepathic field".

"My snowman…"

"It seems to reflect people's thoughts and memories and because it's unusual, somehow it carries a previous shape and"-

"No, Doctor. My snowman" Clara pointed behind him at the Snowman that had appeared out of nowhere, complete with jagged grin.

"Ah! Interesting. Well, were you thinking about it?"

"Yes" Clara replied; her eyes widened when another Snowman appeared, and then another, and another. They were being surrounded!

"Well, stop. Clara, stop thinking about the snowmen!" the Doctor warned, pulling her down as the nearest snowman breathed icy snowflakes at them. Charlotte wondered if they could just be kicked apart, but she didn't want to risk it; for all she knew, they'd freeze her foot or something.

"Get down! Clara, listen to me. The snow's feeding off your thoughts".

"I don't understand".

"You're caught in their telepathic field. They're mirroring you. The more you think about the snowmen, the more they appear. Imagine them melting, all of you. Picture it. Picture them melted!"

All four of them closed their eyes and visualised the Snowmen turning to water…moments later, the women gasped in shock as icy water splashed them, soaking their clothes. "Fff- freezing!" Charlotte gasped; she had been about to say something completely different, but it was Victorian times, she had to maintain some semblance of propriety. She suddenly remembered something and walked over to Strax, who had been standing guard beside the carriage.

"Strax, listen. I need you to double back around and pick us up from the park the TARDIS is stationed over. Laura and I have some…stealth training to do" she explained. It was the most believable lie she could think of, and the military minded Sontaron would probably buy it.

"My orders are to listen to the Doctor, not to you, boy".

She didn't bother correcting him on her gender, already used to it. "I'll get you one of Jenny's sherbet fancies".

"…Stealth mission. Understood" Strax nodded once. Charlotte gave him a thumbs up, and walked over to Laura, hugging her as an excuse to whisper in her ear. The Doctor ushered them all into the carriage and told Strax to take them home...then he walked away, apparently oblivious to the fact that all three women had climbed out of the carriage from the other door.

They followed him to the park, which wasn't as far as they'd thought. Clara watched in amazement as he pulled a ladder down out of thin air, and climbed up it. Charlotte and Laura were slightly less impressed, having seen it on television…but yes, it was pretty cool seeing it in person. Clara jumped up to try and grab the ladder, but ended up falling down in the snow. The other two helped her up, and she took a running jump, managing to grab the bottom rung this time.

"Come on" she grinned at Laura and Charlotte, before climbing up the ladder. They followed her up onto a platform that seemed to be suspended in mid-air…perhaps with anti-grav clamps attached, Charlotte mused. Clara tried waving at a few passers-by, but nobody noticed them. "Hello? Invisible" she realised, "An invisible staircase".

They climbed up the spiral staircase, Clara first, then Laura and Charlotte. "Psst, Laura; let's not go in the TARDIS. The Doctor doesn't know we've followed him, and I want to keep it that way. He might stop trusting us if he found out".

"Okay" Laura nodded in agreement. The three of them reached the cloud - if it was a cloud – that the TARDIS sat upon. Clara hesitated, before stepping up onto it, surprised that she could stand on it. The others followed, and Laura grinned to herself. _I'm standing on a cloud_ she thought gleefully, _Just like a pegasus._

Charlotte moved past Clara and walked up to the TARDIS, moving to the side and carefully resting her hand against the wood. Whenever someone claimed in the show that the TARDIS was 'alive' after touching it; that always confused her because surely they'd touched humming machinery before? When she touched it now though…she got what they meant. It made her hand tingle, and it was warm to the touch, not cold like she'd expected.

Clara knocked on the TARDIS doors, but quickly ducked out of sight when the Doctor opened the door. After a brief revolution around the TARDIS, the three of them managed to sneak back down the ladder…but Clara had to lose her shawl behind, and Charlotte only realised that the Doctor would have found it when they had met up with Strax and were being escorted home. She just hoped he wouldn't figure out that she and Laura had trailed after him too…she didn't want him to lose trust in them and shut them out, not when they were this close.

/

Laura and Charlotte went out with Jenny the next morning, to do some errands…and also to keep away from Strax. Charlotte had sneaked him a sweet from Jenny, thinking he couldn't be that bad with just one…she'd been mistaken. Their path just happened to take them past the park that the Doctor had made his home – _That makes him sound like a hobo_ Charlotte realised, amusing herself. She had such an odd sense of humour sometimes.

"Doctor! Doctor!" A familiar voice drew their attention, and they pushed their way through the small crowd that was gathering. Clara was trying to grab the ladder again, in broad daylight...no wonder people were staring. This was the same woman who managed to trail after a man (who admittedly could be a bit oblivious) without detection, no less.

"Now then, that's enough noise. We don't want to attract attention, do we?" Jenny admonished her. Clara turned around, and looked relieved at the sight of her friends. "Laura, Charlotte, you'll never guess – we need the Doctor. Do you know where he is? Wait, does she know who he is?" she asked, gesturing to Jenny. The young maid tilted her head curiously and smirked. "Doctor who?"

The four of them returned to Madame Vastra's house. She had apparently managed to calm Strax down, because he gave Clara his customary greeting. "Do not attempt to escape or you will be obliterated! May I take your coat?"

Clara shook her head, eyeing him warily. Jenny led them into the conservatory, where Madame Vastra waited sitting in her peacock chair. Laura was puzzled as to how she knew to be waiting, and then remembered that they seemed to have a psychic connection.

"Sit" Jenny directed Clara, who obeyed; the two Whovians stood to one side of her chair. "There are two refreshments in your world the colour of red wine. This is not red wine" Madame Vastra said pointedly. The message was clear; tread carefully, and do as she was told.

"Madame Vastra will ask you questions. You will confine yourself to single word responses. One word only, do you understand?"

"Why?"

"Truth is singular. Lies are words, words, words. You met the Doctor, didn't you?"

"Yes"

"And now you've come looking for him again. Why?"

Clara hesitated, frowning slightly. "Take your time" said Jenny, "One word only". Charlotte and Laura remained silent, feeling as if they oughtn't interrupt. After a few moments, Clara replied, "Curiosity".

"About?"

"Snow"

"And about him?"

"Yes"

"What do you want from him?"

"Help"

"Why?"

"Danger?"

"Why would he help you?"

"Kindness"

"The Doctor is not kind"

"No?"

"No. The Doctor doesn't help people. Not anyone, not ever. He stands above this world and doesn't interfere in the affairs of its inhabitants. He is not your salvation, nor your protector. Do you understand what I am saying to you?"

A small smile formed on Clara's lips. "Words" she answered simply.

Madame Vastra sighed. "He was different once, a long time ago" she admitted, "Kind, yes. A hero, even. A saver of worlds. But he suffered losses which hurt him. Now he prefers isolation to the possibility of pain's return. Kindly choose a word to indicate your understanding of this".

"Man".

"We are the Doctor's friends. We assist him in his isolation but that does not mean we approve of it. So, a test for you. Give me a message for the Doctor. Tell him all about the snow and what fresh danger you believe it presents, and above all, explain why he should help you. But do it in one word" Madame Vastra challenged Clara, who stared at her disbelief. "You're thinking it is impossible that such a word exists, or that you could even find it. Let's see if the gods are with you".

/

The console phone rang; the Doctor rolled his eyes and set his book down, picking it up. "Yes, what? I'm trying to read" he said rather snappishly. He wasn't in the best mood – what Charlotte and Laura had said last night, it…it had got to him a bit. Then he'd found Clara's shawl and realised she'd followed him…which meant Laura and Charlotte might have done the same, despite promising to respect his privacy and to do as they were told…the Doctor focused back on the call.

"Miss Clara and her concerns about the snow" Vastra was explaining, "I gave her the one word test".

"That's always pointless. What did she say? Well? Well?"

"Pond"

The Doctor pulled off Amy's glasses, and looked at them wistfully. He could almost hear her, " _Come along, raggedy man!_ "…his hearts ached.

"Strax has already suggested where to start investigating".


	3. Chapter 3 - The Snowmen Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

The Snowmen – Part Two

"Body frozen in a pond" the Doctor muttered to himself, as he scanned the frozen surface of a pond outside a place called Darkover House. "The snow gets a good long look at a human being, like a full body scan. Everything they need to evolve. Pond. Good point, Clara" he admitted, before looking up and seeing Strax, Charlotte and Laura. "What are you doing here?"

"Madame Vastra wondered if you were needing any grenades?"

"Grenades?"

"She might have said 'help'" Strax corrected himself. Laura and Charlotte smiled at the Doctor, but their smiles soon faded when he frowned instead. "Help for what?"

"Well, your investigation".

"Investigation? Who says I'm investigating? Do you think I'm going to start investigating just because some bird smiles at me? Who do you think I am?"

Strax paused, and then replied with a grin, "Sherlock Holmes". The girls couldn't help snickering a bit at this, and the Doctor scowled at them. "Don't be clever, Strax. It doesn't suit you".

"Sorry, sir"

"I thought it was pretty good" Charlotte remarked idly.

"No, it wasn't. I'm the clever one, he's the potato one".

"Yes, sir"

"Now go away"

"Yes, Mister Holmes" Strax nodded, turning to stride away; Charlotte and Laura covered their mouths, trying to suppress the giggles that threatened to bubble up from their throats. They couldn't help it; Strax was just funny, on screen or in person.

"Oi! Shut up. You're not clever or funny and you've got tiny little legs!" the Doctor retorted as the Sontaron left. He looked at the young women still there, about to tell them to go on after Strax, when Laura waved at the house. Looking up, he spotted Clara waving at them from an upstairs window. "Okay, just tell her you're leaving, you're not going up" he told himself firmly, "Leaving. Not going up".

Instead, he gave Clara a thumbs up and a 'five minutes' gesture. He stared at his traitorous fingers in annoyance, asking them "What was that about? Five minutes, where did that come from?" He walked away from the pond and towards the house, prompting Charlotte and Laura to follow him. He pulled up short and spun on his heel to face them. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Um, with you" Charlotte said, thinking it was kind of obvious, "So what's the plan?"

"The plan is, I go in there and you two" – he pointed back towards the gates, "Go back out through there".

Laura frowned and asked, "Doctor, is something wrong?"

"Did you follow me last night?" the Doctor demanded suddenly; the two of them were taken aback, glancing at one another and then at him.

"We – yeah, maybe, but so what?" Charlotte replied defensively, "We just wanted to see the TARDIS!"

"Why not just ask?"

"We thought you'd say no – you didn't want us on board, remember?"

"Do you remember promising to respect my privacy? That was the deal, wasn't it, that I'd let you spend time with me in return for leaving me alone when I asked you to?"

They had the decency to look ashamed, especially Laura. "You're right" Charlotte sighed. "We broke our promise and that was wrong, and we're really sorry; but _please_ , don't shut us out" she begged, a few tears forming in her eyes, "This is…this is the last chance we have to prove ourselves to you". It really was, if he didn't take them with him after this adventure it might be months before 'The Crimson Horror' adventure, this was their best chance and she'd blown it, he'd been starting to trust them, she realised now, and she'd gone and broken that trust just to follow more of the 'episode'. She felt terrible.

The Doctor had felt betrayed, he'd been cross with the pair; but seeing them now, near tears, desperate to prove they were companion material so he wouldn't leave them behind; but he never planned to do that, they were lost in an unfamiliar universe and he knew how it felt to be without a home…before he could say anything, explain to them that he hadn't been testing them and to apologise for making them feel that way…the ice on the pond audibly cracked.

The three of them jumped at the sound, like a gunshot, and turned to the pond. The snow covered ice had cracks running through it, spreading out like spider webs. The sound of horse hooves clopping on cobblestones made Charlotte and Laura's eyes widen in fear. "Simeon's coming!" the latter hissed. The Doctor didn't ask; he knew they'd seen snapshots of his life in TV episodes, he guessed this was an adventure that had been televised, a Christmas Special probably.

Instead he simply moved to the front door of the house, sonicking it open. He put a finger to his lips, telling the girls to be quiet, before beckoning them to follow. They smiled in relief and sneaked through the door, shutting it as quietly as they could behind them. The three of them hurried upstairs and into a play room; the Doctor and Charlotte ducked down behind a puppet theatre, but there was no room for Laura, who pressed her back against the wall beside the door.

"What're you doing?" Charlotte hissed at the Doctor, who was fiddling with his sonic. Her heart was hammering in her chest with the adrenaline, tense, listening for the Ice Woman.

"Adding an anti-freeze setting" he replied absently, and her eyes widened in surprise and worry.

"I thought you had one already!"

"Well, no, I – shh!" the Doctor pressed a finger to her lips, shushing her as they heard the Ice Woman clump past. Charlotte's eyes darted over to Laura, who looked frightened, watching as the Ice Woman moved stiffly past. Laura sagged a bit in relief when it passed by, only to remember that it was heading for Clara, and the kids – they heard the door open at the end of the hall, and at the sound of a scream Laura impulsively ran out into the corridor. Charlotte darted after her, wondering what on earth her best friend was thinking.

"Bloomin' hell!" she heard Clara exclaim; the Ice Woman was ahead of her, stepping through a doorway, screeching "The children have been very naughty!"

"Get back, now, quickly!"

"You're doing your other voice"

"Yes love, did you notice?"

"Naughty, naughty"- Laura ran up behind the Ice Woman and shoved with all her might. "Run!" she cried; Clara pushed her young charges towards Laura, and all of them hurried down the corridor and into the play room. Laura and Charlotte shut the door and leaned against it, trying to keep the Ice Woman out. Charlotte grinned at Laura. "That was brilliant!"

Clara gathered the terrified children close to her. "What do we do?" asked Digby. Clara recalled how she'd stopped the snowmen, and quickly knelt down in front of Frannie. "Frannie, Frannie, imagine 'er melting!"

"What?"

"In your 'ead. Melt 'er!"

"I can't!"

"I'm getting impatient!" the Ice Woman screeched from the other side of the door, banging against it; fortunately, Charlotte and Laura were able to hold it closed. The weeks of hard chores and stretching had paid off a bit, it seemed. "You are being very naughty!"

"What about the man? You said the man was here, the cloud man".

"He is – isn't he? Charlotte, Laura, please tell me the Doctor's here!"

"He's here!"

"Then where is he?"

The Ice Woman shoved against the door again, harder this time. "Oh, for goodness sake" Charlotte huffed, looking over her shoulder, "Hurry up, Doctor!"

A Punch puppet popped up from behind the theatre. "Doctor?" it squeaked – Charlotte grinned and motioned for Clara and the kids to stay back, pulling Laura away from the door as the Ice Woman burst in. "Doctor? Doctor Who?"

The puppet, or rather the Doctor, pointed the sonic screwdriver at the Ice Woman; there was a high pitched whine and she suddenly shattered into pieces. Laura and Charlotte rubbed at their ears; they hadn't been prepared for the pitch, and now their ears were ringing. The Doctor emerged from behind the box, grinning. "That's the way to do it!" he cheered, looking at the Punch puppet…which kissed him, and then slapped him. "Oi, ow!"

Charlotte gave him an odd look as he wiped his mouth and stood up. "Did you just kiss your own hand?"

"It was the puppet" he replied absently, pulling out his sonic and scanning the area where the Ice Woman had been standing. "Where did she go?" Frannie asked nervously, "Will she come back?"

"No, don't worry. She's currently draining through your carpet" the Doctor reassured her, turning to Clara, "New setting. Anti-freeze. And you're very welcome, by the way".

"I'm very grateful" Clara smiled, "To both of you" she added to Laura, who smiled back. She looked at the Doctor again and told him, "I knew you'd come".

"No you didn't" he said immediately, "because I don't, because this isn't the sort of thing I do any more. Next time you're in trouble, don't expect me to…" he trailed off, catching sight of his reflection in a mirror. For a moment he didn't even recognise the tired old man staring back at him…but he recognised one thing. Clara came up behind him, asking in concern, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Sorry, it's just…didn't know I'd put it on" he said slowly, reaching up to straighten his bowtie, "Old habits". Charlotte smiled at the sight, and then glanced at the window to see frost forming. _Here we go_ she thought in anticipation. Clara noticed the drop in temperature and murmured, "It's cooler".

The Doctor had to smile at that. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? It is very cool. Bow ties are cool" he grinned.

"No, the room" she corrected, "The room's getting colder".

"Look!" Laura gasped, pointing at a rapidly growing lump in the carpet. Clara quickly pulled the children behind her as the Doctor aimed his sonic at the reforming Ice Woman. "She's coming back!" cried Digby.

"What's she going to do? Is she going to punish me?"

"Err, err, she's learnt not to melt" the Doctor determined, "Of course, she's not really a governess, she's just a beast. She's going to eat you" he told Frannie, taking the children's hands, "Run!"

They ran around the Ice Woman trapped beneath the carpet and out of the room, down the stairs. The children's father came striding out of a room. "Children, what is the expla- Who the devil are you? What are you doing in my house?" he demanded, staring at the Doctor, Laura and Charlotte.

"It's okay!" the Doctor exclaimed quickly, "I am your governess's gentleman friend, and we've just been upstairs kissing!"

"Really, that's the best you can do?" Charlotte asked incredulously, before adding to the bewildered father, "We're all just friends of Miss Montague and we were saving her and the kids from a monster".

Clara stared at Charlotte, wondering how she knew about the 'Miss Montague' alias, but there wasn't time to ask. The housemaid, Alice, came running in. "Captain Latimer. In the garden, there's snowmen! And they're just growing out of nowhere, all by themselves. Look!" she cried, hurrying to the front door. The bell was ringing, which could only mean one thing…

Alice pulled the door open to find Madame Vastra and Jenny standing on the doorstep. "Good evening" the Silurian greeted politely, "I am a Lizard Woman from the dawn of time, and this is my wife".

Alice screamed, which didn't seem to faze the pair in the slightest, and ran back into the house…only to be met with Strax holding a weapon. "This building is under attack! Remain calm, human scum" he ordered. Alice screamed – "Oi! This is no time to panic" Charlotte insisted impatiently; Alice stared at her, and then just fainted. Charlotte rolled her eyes.

The Doctor checked on Alice quickly, and then placed a hand on Captain Latimer's shoulder. "So, any questions?"

The poor man could only look up at Clara. "You have a…gentleman friend?"

Clara sighed in exasperation – did they have to do this now? The Doctor quickly changed the topic. "Vastra, what's happening?" he asked, moving over to a window and looking out of it.

"The snow is highly localised, and on this occasion not naturally occurring" Vastra declared immediately.

"It's coming out of that cab parked by the gates!"

"So Simeon's got a snow-blower" Charlotte remarked, nudging Laura with a grin, "And we thought it was just the Doctor who invented stuff too early". Laura giggled, and the Doctor shot them a mock offended look.

Strax stepped forward and suggested, "Sir, one pulver grenade would blow these _snowmen_ to smithereens".

"Don't be silly, Strax" Laura shook her head at them, "They're snowmen, they're _already_ smithereens".

"Exactly, Laura" the Doctor nodded, pointing at her. He looked at Clara, who was still on the stairs with the children and commented sarcastically, "See Clara, our friends again".

Captain Latimer frowned in consternation. "Clara? Who's Clara?"

The Doctor quickly explained, "Your current governess is in reality a former barmaid called Clara"-

"That's the way to do it!" the Ice Woman screeched, staggering into view at the top of the stairs. Clara quickly ushered the children away from it and the Doctor continued, "Meanwhile your previous governess is now a living ice sculpture impersonating Mister Punch. Jenny, what have you got?" he asked the young woman; Jenny stepped forward and threw a spherical device up the stairs. A force-field burst out of it, keeping the Ice Woman at bay. "That should hold it" she said confidently.

"Sir, this room" Strax called from beside the door to Latimer's study, "One observational window on the line of attack and one defendable entrance" he reported. The Doctor nodded and instructed, "Right, everyone in there. Now. Move it. You, carry her" he told Latimer, pointing at Alice who was still lying unconscious on the floor.

The others hurried to move, and the Doctor scanned the furious Ice Woman with his sonic. Madame Vastra remarked, "Nice to see you off your cloud and engaging again".

"I'm not engaging again, I'm under attack".

"With you it's the same thing!" Charlotte quipped from the doorway into the study. Vastra eyed him and smirked, saying "You missed this, didn't you?"

The Doctor looked between them, discomfited, as the Ice Woman battered against the force-field. "Shut up" he grumbled, moving past Vastra. The human and Silurian grinned knowingly at one another, Charlotte stepping aside to let the others pass before joining them in the room. Straight away the Doctor inquired, "Strax, how long have we got?"

"They're not going to attack" the Sontaron reported immediately, "They made no attempt to conceal their arrival. An attack force would never abandon surprise so easily, and they're clearly in a defence formation".

"Way, aye, aye" the Doctor grinned, rubbing the Sontaron's head with his fist, "Well done, Straxie. Still got it, buddy". He kissed the top of Strax's head, and then stuck his tongue out, grimacing.

"Eww!" Charlotte said, amused and disgusted…but mostly disgusted. Strax frowned. "Sir, please do not noogie me during combat prep" he grumbled.

Vastra surmised, "So there's something here they want".

"The Ice Woman" Clara stated; after all, what else could it be?

"Exactly" the Doctor replied darkly. Jenny frowned and asked, "Why's she so important?"

"Because she's a perfect duplication of human DNA in ice crystal form; the ultimate fusion of snow and humanity. To live here, the snow needs to evolve and she's the blueprint. She's what they need to become. When the snow melted last night, did the pond?" he asked Clara, snapping his fingers and pointing at her. "No" she replied straightaway.

"Living ice that will never melt… If the snow gets hold of that creature on the stairs, it will learn to make more of them. It will build an army of ice. And it will be the last day of humanity on this planet" the Doctor revealed ominously. _Don't fan-girl_ Charlotte told herself firmly, _It doesn't matter how badass he is when he talks like that, don't squee, don't even grin. Danger, real, not fun._

Unbeknownst to her, Laura was thinking along the similar lines. _Focus, it's not the episode, this isn't on TV, it's real…but it's still awesome!_

They were both startled from their thoughts by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Everyone looked at each other, none of them daring to go answer the door…then the Doctor cracked his neck and warned them, "Stay here".

He walked to the door and stepped through it, shutting it behind him. Clara moved to follow, but Laura suddenly caught her arm and implored her, "Clara wait, he said to stay here!"

Clara disengaged her arm from Laura's grasp and assured her, "Don't worry about me; keep an eye on 'em, won't ya?" she smiled, before ducking out of the room. Laura stared at the shut door in alarm; she moved to open it, but Charlotte darted in and pulled her away. "Don't even think about it" she scolded, figuring out what Laura was trying to do. Her best friend tried to protest, but she pulled Laura over to the side and whispered to her, "We made a pact, remember?"

"Is everything alright?" Jenny asked in concern, it…seemed like the pair were having an argument, and she'd never seen them do any more than playful bickering. Charlotte glanced over and gave her a rather forced smile. "Yeah, it's fine, she's just a bit nervous" she lied, nodding at Laura, who was pouting miserably. Madame Vastra eyed the pair; she could tell Miss Richards was lying, and Miss Seamer didn't seem nervous, no…she seemed upset.

Frannie asked, "What's going to happen to us?"

Then Digby inquired, "Why did Miss Montague follow that man?"

Straightaway Laura volunteered to go and fetch Clara. "And then what?" Charlotte asked her, trying to remind her without stating it outright, they had to let Clara die.

Laura frowned and replied, "And then the children would feel safe".

"They've got their father" Charlotte pointed out, nodding to the man. Latimer frowned at her slightly, taken aback by her forwardness. He cleared his throat and moved towards the door, saying "I've had enough of this; I want some answers".

He stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Charlotte reached out to put an arm around Laura's shoulders, but she pulled away and hugged herself. Charlotte sighed at the snub; but it couldn't be helped, they didn't know how much they could change and as far as she could see, Clara's unfortunate death was the catalyst that helped to defeat the Great Intelligence.

Captain Latimer returned to the study and helped Jenny rouse his housemaid. He needed her to take care of his children…he just couldn't cope, not after their mother…and now Miss Montague, or Clara, had run off with that stranger who was apparently her gentleman friend, to stop these snow monsters that were appearing around his house to capture a living ice replica of his previous governess. He shook his head and poured himself another drink…but then the green woman, Vastra or something, took the bottle away. "With all due respect, we may need you sober" she said pointedly.

Laura bit her lip, struggling to hold back tears. Unbidden, her memories of the episode flickered through her mind…the Doctor taking an umbrella, he and Clara dodging past the Ice Woman and making their way to the roof, climbing up the ladder to the TARDIS, the Doctor giving her a key, the Ice Woman grabbing Clara and…and…she couldn't do it. How could she just stand here and, and _wait_ for a friend of hers to die? Forget the pact, time could be rewritten, she knew it could. There might still be a chance to save Clara, but how?

She was running out of time, the Doctor and Clara might be on the roof by now, she had to think of something quick! Laura didn't usually work well under pressure, but this was _important,_ and as her eyes darted around the room they landed on an old fashioned telephone. Eureka!

Quickly, Laura hurried over and picked it up. "Madame Vastra!" she called, and the Silurian turned. "Can you tell me the TARDIS phone number?" Laura questioned urgently. Charlotte rushed over, shaking her head and protesting "No, don't tell her. It's not important".

"It _is_ important!"

"So is stopping Dr Simeon!" Charlotte snapped, rounding on Laura, "And the less _we_ interfere, the better!"

Strax stomped up and declared "If the human…female wishes to contribute to the plans of how to annihilate our enemies, then"-

"Ugh, not now Strax; this has nothing to do with you" Charlotte groaned impatiently.

"'Ere now, I dunno what's got you upset but you don't 'ave to take it out on 'im".

"I am perfectly capable of defending myself against verbal and physical attacks, boy".

Madame Vastra cleared her throat pointedly before a three way argument could begin, and turned her sharp gaze on Laura. "What do you want to know the TARDIS phone number for?"

"I just want to help the Doctor and Clara".

"They won't need any help" Charlotte tried to insist. Really, what had gotten into Laura? It was terrible that Clara had to die, but they'd already seen it happen in one form, from what she knew of the Laws of Time, these were fixed events now! Time couldn't be rewritten if you didn't know what you were doing. They could cause a paradox, summon Reapers, anything!

"What are they doing?" asked Digby. He didn't really understand what was going on, except that their mean old governess was now even meaner, and made of ice, and wanted to eat them…

"They're luring the Ice Woman away from those creepy Snowmen" Charlotte offered by way of explanation, "And up to the Doctor's home".

"You mean the box on the cloud?"

"Yeah, that's the one".

"But a cloud won't stop ice" Laura said firmly, pleading to Madame Vastra, "We need to call him, and warn him about that!"

"Laura, _please_ don't do this!" Charlotte begged, "I'm worried about them too, but"-

"You're not worried. If you were, you'd be trying to help me!"

"I _am_ trying to help you, I'm trying to stop you from doing something you'll regret!"

"I'll regret doing nothing".

"You'll regret this more; I warned you, Laura!"

"Warned 'er about what?" Jenny frowned. Charlotte tensed, before beckoning to Madame Vastra and Jenny. She beckoned them over to a corner and in a hushed voice, quickly explained, "We've seen this before, Clara doesn't make it, and I don't _want_ her to – but it's fixed now, we've seen it, and I tried to tell her what would happen if she got attached too much".

"Clara _dies?_ " Jenny whispered, eyes wide. "Oh, the poor girl…"

"Perhaps not" Vastra determined, "You may have seen her fate in one timeline, but your presence has altered the timelines slightly; perhaps enough to allow another change".

"I don't think Time works like that?"

"Do you truly know how Time works?" Madame Vastra inquired. Deep down, Charlotte knew that she didn't mean it as an insult or anything…but she was irritable, feeling guilty and angry…she scowled and muttered, "Fine, help Laura change the future. I give up. Catch me trying to maintain the timelines…" She strode…more like stalked…over to the window and stood with her arms folded, staring out at the yard and the Snowmen.

Laura felt a pang of guilt, but Charlotte just didn't understand…she had to _try._ She felt like she'd never forgive herself if she didn't at least try to save her friend. Madame Vastra told her the Doctor's number and showed her how to dial it…Laura waited for someone to pick up, wringing her free hand anxiously…finally there was a click and she heard the Doctor's voice ask, "What now?"

"Doctor, clouds don't stop ice!" Laura blurted out, praying that she wasn't too late, that she'd reminded him of this crucial fact in time – but then she heard Clara scream in the background, and the Doctor shouting "Clara! Clara!"

The line went dead. Laura slowly lowered the phone, eyes wide and filling with tears. She _had_ been too late…worse than that, her phone call…it might have been what distracted the Doctor from keeping an eye on Clara, she might have…

"Laura, are you alright?" Jenny asked, concerned, seeing the girl close to tears. Charlotte looked round at that, and hesitantly moved towards her best friend. "L-Laura? What's…what's wrong?"

Pale faced, Laura opened her mouth and tried to force some words out of her sandpaper dry throat, but she couldn't, she could only shake her head helplessly…she flinched when they heard a thud outside.

"What was that?"

"It's Clara".

 _Please let something be different, let her have survived somehow, please!_

"Dear God. Oh, dear God. Where did she fall from? We have to get her inside".

"Those things will kill you".

"She's hurt!"

"She's dead".

A sob tore itself from Laura… _she'd_ _killed Clara._ Without thinking she ran from the room, hiding besides the stairs, just wanting to curl up and never talk to anyone again. Her hearts hadn't felt this broken since the day she'd come home from school and been told that her baby brother had died in the hospital…

"Laura?"

"Go away!" Couldn't Charlotte see that she wanted to be left alone?

"It wasn't your fault"-

"Yes, it was! I – I distracted the Doctor, I took his mind off Clara and now she…" the rest was cut off in a sob; Laura buried her head in her hands and shrunk further into herself, flinching when Charlotte tried to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder. A few tears sprang into Charlotte's eyes at that; in all the time they'd been best friends, neither of them had ever spurned the other's comfort.

She struggled to think of something to say to help. "Strax revives her, you – we can still say goodbye…"

"Just _go away_ , Charlotte" Laura pleaded, looking up at her with glistening eyes. "Please, just leave me alone…"

Helplessly, Charlotte did as she was asked. When she stepped back into the study, the Doctor was laying Clara…Clara's body down on a cleared, blanketed table. He ran a hand over her hair, and then stepped back to let Strax use his technology to revive the poor girl. He looked up at Charlotte and asked solemnly, "Where's Laura?"

Charlotte couldn't even muster up the will to spin a lie… "She's under the stairs, crying her eyes out, cos she thinks that Clara's de- that Clara falling was her fault, and she won't let me…and if you blame her, I swear, I will punch you so hard your- your _first self_ will feel it" she threatened tearfully.

For a moment the Doctor was confused, as to why Laura would blame herself for Clara's death – except she wasn't going to die, not on his watch – but then he realised, her phone call had distracted him. _No, you selfish fool, you were already distracted. She was in your care and you took your eyes off her…the only one at fault here is you_ his inner demons hissed. He fought them back the only way he knew how – by helping other people fight back theirs.

Without another word he moved around Charlotte – she followed him, probably to make sure he didn't hurt her best friend's feelings. He found Laura, sitting beside the stairs, arms wrapped around her knees. The Doctor crouched down before her and reached out to touch her shoulder. "Laura" he murmured…she looked up at him, eyes red rimmed, looking utterly heart-broken.

"It wasn't your fault" the Doctor insisted before she could speak, "You reminded me of something I should have figured out for myself…Clara was in my care, she was my responsibility".

"But…but I _knew…_ "

"We both knew" Charlotte sighed guiltily…there was no point keeping secrets now, though she'd looked back at the study door to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. "We've seen this before, in our own universe…Clara died, and I thought…we didn't know how much we could change, I was just trying to maintain the timelines, but Madame Vastra said that we might be able to change the future if us being here changed the timelines – not that I'm blaming her, I just"-

"I know" the Doctor said hastily, seeing her getting worked up. He rose to his feet and told them, "Don't blame yourselves…because Clara is going to live. Time _can_ be rewritten when there's a Time Lord involved…for now, just…just look after each other. Strax has technology that can revive Clara, you can talk to her…I doubt she'd blame you either" he told Laura, implicitly letting her know that he didn't blame her either.

Laura sniffled, and looked from the Doctor to Charlotte, who was fighting back tears of her own…she scrambled to her feet and practically threw herself into her best friend's arms, the two of them clinging to each other like life rafts in a raging sea. The Doctor watched them with a sad smile, before squaring his shoulders and walking back to the TARDIS. He had a threat to take care of.

/

Laura and Charlotte stepped into the study just in time to hear Captain Latimer question, "That green woman said she was dead. How can she be alive now?"

"This technology has capacities and abilities beyond anything your puny human mind could possibly understand" Strax replied a bit callously, before hastily adding, "Try not to worry".

The others looked over as they entered the room, slowly approaching Clara. Her chest barely seemed like it was moving, and Laura had to remind herself that Clara was alive…right now…and focus on that. Jenny moved towards them, gazing at Laura with pity. "How'd you feel?" she asked gently, before wincing; that probably wasn't the best question.

"Awful" Laura replied honestly; Charlotte rubbed her arm, trying to comfort her. She gestured to where Clara was lying and hesitantly asked, "Can we…?"

Jenny nodded and stepped aside, motioning for Latimer and Strax to do the same. Laura took a deep breath and stepped up beside Clara, reaching out to hold her friend's hand, trying to offer a little bit of comfort. Clara's eyes flickered open, and she blinked up at them. "Hello" she murmured hoarsely.

"H-hi Clara…I'm so sorry" Laura sniffled. Clara frowned slightly at that, and inquired, "About what?"

"I…it's my fault you're d-dying…"

"No, it's not. Don't say that" Clara insisted. Laura opened her mouth to protest, but Clara wasn't finished. "No, don't say it. This isn't your fault…and who said anything about dying?" she asked, before wincing in pain. "Besides…if I die, I'll be in a better place. I'll be able to see my mother again…"

Laura swallowed another sob and nodded, taking comfort in her faith, in the fact that Clara…this version of Clara…would go to heaven. Charlotte didn't believe in that sort of thing, but she did believe that, if there were a heaven or some sort of afterlife, Clara would deserve a good one. Perhaps when an echo of the original Clara died, it returned to the original and made her whole again, but with extra memories. Yes, she liked that idea.

"I don't…I don't want to say goodbye…"

"Then don't"

Charlotte gently placed a hand on Laura's shoulder; she looked over, and noticed the Doctor standing behind them, but giving the pair space to pay their respects. She bit her lip, and said to Clara, "I'll never forget you, Clara. Thank you for helping us".

"Thank you" Charlotte nodded with a small smile, "and you're right, this doesn't have to be goodbye forever…just until we see each other again".

Clara smiled softly, thinking that Charlotte meant when they met in heaven, and murmured, "Until we meet again…you're welcome".

Laura squeezed her hand, and then she and Charlotte moved aside to let the Doctor speak to Clara. He handed a metal lunchbox to Jenny, which rattled, and moved to Clara's side. "Hey, hello…"

"They all think I'm going to die, don't they?"

"And I know you're going to live".

"How?"

"I never know how; I only know who" he reminded her, pressing the key he'd given her into her palm and kissing her fingers.

"The green lady… She said you were the saver of worlds once. Are you going to save this one?"

"If I do, will you come away with me?" the Doctor asked her. Charlotte tensed a bit at that, hoping he didn't mean that he was planning to leave her and Laura behind.

"Yes"

"Well then, Merry Christmas" he said solemnly, straightening his bow tie. He took the box from Jenny and left the room, returning a few moments later to ask Madame Vastra to accompany him and warn the others to stay there and stay safe. When he was gone Jenny asked, "What do we do?"

"What he said" Laura replied listlessly, walking over to Clara and holding her hand, "We wait". This time she didn't want to interfere, she didn't want to make things worse…it was hitting her more than ever, being in the Whoniverse wasn't just an adventure, it was…life and death, and everything in between. She was beyond grateful to her best friend for being there for her, and beyond guilty that her foolish attempt to change time and save Clara had ended up dooming the girl instead. A tear rolled down her cheek, and outside, a Snowman close to the house melted a little.

As Clara slipped away, despite Strax's efforts, tears appeared in the eyes of every human there. Before Laura and Charlotte knew it, Jenny was crying out in warning, "They're growing! The Snowmen are growing!"

"What should we do?"

"Were you not listening, sir? The creatures outside are in a defensive formation, they are guarding the device producing the snow from which they are formed. Whilst I admire your desire to engage the enemy, it"-

"Engage them? I want to do no such thing!"

"Where is your honour, man? Where is your fight?"

"Strax, stop it!" Laura cut in, frowning tearfully at the pair. Clara was _dying,_ and they were bickering over fighting off those stupid Snowmen!

"Stay out of this, boy" Strax huffed, only to blink when Charlotte strode over and right up to him, glaring. "My friend is upset, and if you upset her any more I will take something sharp and pointy and ram it so far up your probic vent it will come out the other side. Understand?"

The Sontaron paused; normally he wouldn't find the slip of a boy – no, girl – all that threatening, but she'd brought up his one weakness…well, she'd actually brought up two, if you counted the sherbet fancies, but Strax would never admit to that. He stepped back and saluted her, replying "Understood".

Laura and Charlotte shared a hug as Strax moved to scan Clara again, only to find that her life signs were depleting faster than he could restore her. "No, you must fight. Hang on and fight, boy. You can do it".

Clara simply glanced over at her former employer, and murmured, "Captain Latimer. Your children. They're afraid. Hold them".

The man glanced over at Frannie and Digby, huddled with Alice, and cleared his throat nervously. "…It's not really my area…"

"It is now" Clara told him, closing her eyes as a tear ran down her cheek. Outside, there was a clap of thunder and it began to rain.

"They're melting" Jenny said wonderingly, seeing the Snowmen begin to crumble before her eyes. Charlotte moved to stand beside her and said quietly, "They're mirroring".

Jenny glanced at her and asked, "Mirroring what?"

"Us…"

"Captain Latimer?" Alice spoke up, and the man in question turned to her. "With all due respect sir, Miss Clara is right. You're children are going to need you" she pointed out, and Charlotte felt a new-found respect for the woman. Latimer gazed at his children, the children he loved dearly despite having no idea how to raise them properly, not since their mother had passed away, and nodded. "Yes…of course, of course" he murmured, beckoning them into his arms.

The TARDIS materialised a little bit later. "I'm sorry" Strax reported to the Doctor when he emerged, "There was nothing to be done. She has moments only". He stepped aside to allow the Time Lord to speak to Clara one last time.

"We saved the world, Clara, you and me. We really, really did".

"Are you going back on your cloud?"

"No more cloud…not now".

"Why not?"

"It rained"

"…Run…Run, you clever boy. And remember" Clara murmured, closing her eyes and breathing her last. The clock chimed midnight, and Digby realised sadly, "It's Christmas. Christmas Day".

/

A few days later, Clara had been buried in a graveyard, and they were paying their respects. Charlotte and Laura had come with Madame Vastra and Jenny, with all their modern belongings and clothes in a pair of bags lent to them by Jenny, for which they were very grateful. They had thanked Madame Vastra for all her help, and she had promised them that if for some strange reason the Doctor did not wish them to travel with him, they were still more than welcome at 13 Paternoster Row.

"And what about the Intelligence? Melted with the snow?"

"No, I shouldn't think so. It learned to survive beyond physical form".

"Well, we can't be in much danger from a disembodied Intelligence that thinks it can invade the world with snowmen".

"Or that the London Underground is a key strategic weakness" Vastra added, amused. The Doctor pulled out Simeon's business card and frowned thoughtfully at it. "The Great Intelligence. Rings a bell. The Great Intelligence…"

"Your second incarnation faced it" Charlotte reminded him, "It was using robot yeti".

The Doctor blinked, recalling that. "Ah...right. Are you okay?" he asked them, seeing that Laura still looked upset and Charlotte seemed tired.

"It depends"

"On?"

"On whether you'll let us come with you…to find Clara" Charlotte replied, deciding to tempt him a little bit more. The Doctor frowned, and replied "Clara's dead".

Charlotte simply pointed to the gravestone, from which Latimer and his children had moved. The Doctor moved towards it, his eyes widening as he read the words carved there. 'Clara Oswin Oswald. Remember me, we shall meet again. Born November 23 1866, died December 24, 1892'.

"Doctor?" asked Jenny, as he reached out to touch Clara's full name.

"I never knew her name, her full name" he realised, remembering Oswin introducing herself when he was sent to the Dalek Asylum. "Soufflé girl. Oswin. It was her". They had both said it, _Run you clever boy, and remember._

"It was soufflé girl again. I never saw her face the first time with the Daleks, but her voice, it was the same voice" the Doctor stood up and turned to the others, growing more excited.

"Doctor?"

"The same woman, twice. And she died both times. The same woman!"

"Doctor, please, what are you talking about?"

"Something's going on. Something impossible, something - Right, you two, with me" he ordered, pointing to Laura and Charlotte, "You two, stay here. Stay right here. Don't move an inch".

"Are you coming back?"

"Shouldn't think so!"

"But where are you going?"

"To find her, to find Clara!" he laughed.

"Goodbye!"

"Thanks again, see you around!"

/

Laura and Charlotte ran after the Doctor, straight to the TARDIS. He opened the door and stepped aside, gesturing for them to enter. They both grinned, even Laura, and stepped inside the time machine, drinking in the sight. "It's bigger on the inside" Laura smiled; she'd always wanted to say that.

"This is so awesome!" Charlotte laughed, hugging Laura in delight. The Doctor watched them with a smile, before bounding up to the console and pulling the lever to dematerialise the TARDIS. "Clara Oswin Oswald" he said aloud, winking at his new companions, "Watch us run".


	4. Chapter 4 - Tragedies and Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Tragedies and Memories

"The TARDIS is telepathic" the Doctor informed his latest companions, "Sometimes she knows what you want before you do! If you get lost, just ask her where to go and she'll guide you there…unless she's not in a good mood, in which case you might find yourself wandering around in circles, but don't panic! Just close your eyes and concentrate on how much you really need to get to wherever it is you're going, and she should show it to you".

"Wait, so does she know everything that's going on in here?" Charlotte inquired with a slight frown, "Isn't that kind of embarrassing? What if you're getting dressed or in the shower or something?"

"Oh, don't worry about that" the Doctor replied dismissively, "She's not watching us, she's watching all of time and space…which I suppose technically includes us, but trust me, what you do on board the TARDIS is your business. Just keep your rooms clean and – oh, that reminds me, your bedrooms! Walk down that corridor, look through the spare bedrooms until you find one you like" he explained, pointing. They both nodded and walked in the direction indicated, eyes peeled for some doors.

Charlotte couldn't help notice that her best friend was oddly quiet…well, Laura was often quiet, but not this kind of quiet. "Hey, Laura, are you okay?" she asked tentatively. Laura nodded without looking at her, which only served to increase Charlotte's worry. "Um…cos it's okay if you're not okay…Laura, what happened wasn't your fault"-

"I don't want to talk about it" Laura suddenly insisted, glaring at Charlotte with tear rimmed eyes. She turned away quickly and walked on, coming across a door and trying the handle. The bedroom inside was wide and airy, with a light cream carpet and golden walls. There was an elegant crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, a large four poster canopy bed and a wardrobe that seemed like it was straight out of a C.S Lewis novel. It was certainly a beautiful bedroom, but it didn't really fit either of them, so by silent consensus they moved on.

The next few bedrooms they explored didn't really meet their expectations either, so Charlotte suggested trying to visualise what they wanted their bedrooms to be like, and perhaps the TARDIS would guide them to ones that were similar. They tried their best to picture the perfect bedroom in their mind's eye…when they heard a whooshing noise, they cautiously opened their eyes again. There were two doors before them that definitely hadn't been there before, one with an owl motif carved into the wood, and the other with a butterfly motif.

Laura walked up to the owl door and cautiously stepped inside, only for her mouth to drop open. It looked exactly as she'd pictured it – a light pink carpet and creamy white walls, a mural of owls in a forest across one wall, opposite a double bed with candy cane striped covers and pillows. The lamp beside the bed was shaped like a barn owl, her favourite kind, there was a laptop on a desk, and two doors that led on further investigation to a walk-in wardrobe and an en-suite. "This…this…this is amazing!" she exclaimed, the first positive thing she'd said in a while.

"I'll say!" Charlotte agreed with a grin; then she remembered that the other door led to _her_ bedroom, and went to check it out. She hesitated at the door – what if she hadn't visualised it well enough? With a deep breath, she pushed open the door…the lights came on automatically and dispelled her doubts. The carpet was azure, the walls and ceiling sky blue; the bedcovers were white and covered in purple and red butterflies. Everything that Laura's bedroom had, so did hers…and there was a switch marked with a star beside her bed that she couldn't resist pressing.

Instantly the room grew dark, and then hundreds of tiny lights flickered on, all over the walls and ceiling; pinpricks of stars and holographic swirls of nebulae…Charlotte grinned excitedly and flopped down on her really rather comfy bed. "Best. Bedroom. Ever" she declared happily, before sitting up again. Laura's bedroom door was closed, so Charlotte assumed she was getting changed. "Good idea, I need to get out of this stupid corset as well" she said to herself as she shut the door.

A little while later, Charlotte emerged from her bedroom dressed in a pair of light blue jeans, her trusty purple trainers, a light purple and silver long sleeved shirt, and a blue hoodie that reminded her of the one she was attached to back at home. The thought saddened her, but she pushed it aside and knocked on Laura's door. "Um, can I come in?" she called. There was no reply. "Laura?"

"…Just wait, _please_ ".

"O-okay…I'll be in the console room…" Charlotte turned, despondent, and walked away down the corridor. The Doctor looked up from the console when she entered and immediately went off on a ramble, not seeming to notice her downcast expression. "Charlotte! There you are. Did you find a bedroom okay? Where's Laura? Is she coming? Well, when she gets here I've got a lot planned, I thought we could start searching for Clara in the"-

"Wait!" Charlotte cut in quickly, "Um, uh…could you offer Laura a trip first? She's still really upset about what happened and I, I think a trip anywhere in time and space might help to get her mind off things".

The Doctor's excitement faded, and he solemnly replied, "Of course…does she have anywhere in mind?"

"I don't know…she's still getting changed, I think. I don't…I feel like she's shutting me out. She's never done that before" Charlotte admitted sadly. The Doctor hesitated, not sure what to say…after so many years of self-imposed solitude he'd grown out of practice with comforting people… "I'm sure she'll come around" he offered awkwardly. Charlotte gave him a small smile nonetheless and folded her arms, getting into a comfortable position. "The whole 'read our minds and create rooms just how we want them' trick the TARDIS used was cool. Weird, but cool" she remarked.

"Read your…you mean the TARDIS created bedrooms for you, ones you pictured in your heads?"

"Um, yeah, it was my idea. I mean, I thought she'd just lead us to similar bedrooms, but I'm not complaining".

"Well, I wouldn't either…still, that's special. That's very special…"

"It is?"

"Oh, yes. The TARDIS doesn't usually create custom made bedrooms, she must have taken a liking to you both" the Doctor explained. Charlotte blinked in surprise, and then smiled. "Really? That's sweet, we like you too Sexy" she said to the ceiling above the Time Rotor. The TARDIS hummed appreciatively – the Doctor stuck his head out from behind the Rotor and said, "You called her Sexy".

"Well, yeah…it's her name, isn't it?"

"But _I_ call her that, and only when we're alone! How do you know about it?"

"It was in an episode" Charlotte replied, wondering how he couldn't have figured that out. He knew that in their universe some of his adventures were televised, after all.

"An episode, on television?"

"Uh, yeah? It was one of the best episodes ever, IMO" she grinned, "You and her are so cute together!"

"Thanks…"

"You're welco – hey! There you are" Charlotte smiled, spotting Laura out of the corner of her eye. "Oh, you look good" she smiled; Laura was dressed in fawn canvas trousers, a pink blouse and a white crocheted waistcoat. "Thanks, you do too" Laura replied, but without her usual friendly smile; she came down the steps and asked, "So um, where are we going?"

"Where would you like to go?" the Doctor asked in return, "Pick anywhere you like, all of time and space".

"You want _me_ to pick?"

"It was my idea; I thought it might cheer you up".

"Oh…okay. Um, let me think…" she frowned in concentration, trying to think of somewhere to go. At last she looked up and announced, "I'd like to go to Whitby Abbey, I'd love to see it when it was brand new".

The Doctor immediately moved to input some co-ordinates; the two Whovians clung on tight as the TARDIS flew through the TARDIS, unable to stop beaming in excitement, not even Laura. They landed with the characteristic thud and bump. "Here we are, 657 AD. Laura Seamer, outside those doors is the brand new Whitby Abbey" the Doctor told her, gesturing to the doors, "After you".

Laura took a deep breath, and walked up to the door. She opened it and looked out…only to frown. "Err, Doctor, we're not in Whitby…"

"Well, it's bound to look a little different than you're used to; we are several hundred years in the past after all".

"No, but we're not even on _Earth,_ it's a different planet".

"No way, let me see!" Charlotte exclaimed, hurrying to try and peer over Laura's shoulder. The two of them stepped out onto their first alien world…at first glance it looked like a town square in Italy or France, since the architecture seemed similar…but the sky above them was not blue, but amber, and the grass growing up between cracks in the flagstone was dark orange in colour. The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS after them and observed, "Okay, I might have mistyped the co-ordinates. We're on the planet Cieli Ambra, if you were wondering".

Laura was speechless, and Charlotte was…almost speechless. "I…I can't! I just can't!" she squealed, darting over to the Doctor and wrapping her arms around his torso. He stumbled a bit, looking down at the top of her head. She pulled back and beamed at him. "Have I mentioned that every minute I spend with you are the greatest minutes of my life?!"

"Uh…thank you?" the Doctor carefully prised her off of him; Charlotte let go and went back to looking around in awe at the sky, and the orchid like flowers in the hanging baskets, and the locals that seemed to be humanoid but with elfin ears…she even spotted a couple with reptilian features, like spiked tails. Glancing over at Laura, she noticed that her friend looked lost in thought. "You're not disappointed, are you?"

Laura started and shook her head. "No, I'm not disappointed. This place, it's beautiful!" she smiled, before asking the Doctor, "Can we go exploring?"

"I thought you'd never ask" he answered, closing the TARDIS door behind him. They headed out into the alien market place, the Doctor and Charlotte walking ahead, Laura tagging along behind. Dimly she was aware that she shouldn't fall behind, but she was lost in thought…her mind just wouldn't stop replaying that dreadful moment; hearing Clara's distant scream, the Doctor's shouts…the thud of her hitting the ground…Laura bumped into someone and stumbled aside, hurriedly apologising, "Sorry, excuse me".

She tried to focus and catch up with the others, listening to the sounds of the market vendors rather than the sounds in her head. "Deminticor! Get your deminticor here!" one of them was hollering, a rather heavy set humanoid with feathers on his cheeks and forehead, and a stall that resembled that of a fortune teller's at a county fair. She caught his eye and he beckoned to her. "Come on! Don't you want some deminticor?"

"I um…I don't know what that is" Laura explained, unsure if she should be talking to the vendor. Suddenly she realised that she couldn't see the Doctor or Charlotte in the crowd, and panicked a bit, not wanting to be left behind. "It's alright, missy. Everyone likes deminticor; one drop and all your troubles are washed away!" the vendor explained. Without thinking, Laura had moved closer to the stall, looking at the bottle he was holding out in a feathered, scaly grip. "What does it do?"

"It makes you forget whatever you think about, of course. You really are from off planet, aren't you?"

Deep down, Laura knew she should just walk away, find Charlotte and the Doctor…but if this deminticor stuff could really make her forget…she could forget that she'd killed Clara, she could wipe all her guilt away in one fell swoop and nobody ever had to know. "Yeah...um, h-how much does it cost?" she asked hesitantly. The vendor shrugged and replied, "That depends, what have you got that's worth it?"

"Oh, it's a trade, I see. Hmm…I don't think I have anything…" she said, rather disappointed. The vendor pointed to her wrist and remarked, "That's a very pretty bracelet you have there. I'd certainly be willing to part with a bottle of rare deminticor for a bracelet like that". Laura bit her lip, glancing down at her bracelet…she was running out of time…

/

Meanwhile, Charlotte was lost in thoughts of her own, oblivious to her best friend's predicament. "Did I do the right thing?" she asked out of the blue. The Doctor just stared at her in confusion, so she quickly elaborated, "Letting Clara die to keep the timelines intact, I mean".

"Do you think you did the right thing?" the Doctor asked gently, and she sighed. "I don't know…I hate that she had to die, but I can't see how else it could have happened. Her death meant we were all upset, which triggered some kind of…telepathic feedback effect, and melted the snow. You tell me, because I really don't know what to feel right now. Did I do the right thing?"

The Doctor hesitated before replying, "I don't know either, really…but I'm sure Laura would know, wouldn't you L…Laura?" he looked over his shoulder and frowned. Charlotte noticed his expression and turned, but Laura was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes widened, and then she slapped her forehead, muttering in frustration "Stupid, stupid! How could I have not noticed?!" She hurried back through the milling crowd, pushing her way past shoppers of all shapes and sizes, trying to call for Laura over the din of the market.

"There you are!" she cried, rushing up to a slightly dazed looking Laura and hugging her tightly. Then she pulled back and demanded, "Why weren't you keeping up? You could have gotten lost! Are you alright?" Charlotte inquired with more concern, seeing her friend's rather vacant expression. Laura blinked a few times and focused properly. "Yeah, I'm alright" she answered simply.

Charlotte hugged her again; the Doctor stood nearby, fidgeting impatiently. When the two friends pulled apart he approached them and asked bluntly, "Can we go and search for Clara now?"

"Aww, do you want to find your girlfriend?" Charlotte teased him, before noticing Laura's confused expression (and ignoring the Doctor's indignant one). "What's up?"

"Um…who's Clara?"

The moment these words left Laura's lips, the Doctor and Charlotte stared at her. "What did you say?" Charlotte asked, unable to believe her ears. Surely Laura had to be joking, right? Yet she didn't chuckle and say "Just kidding!"; instead, the bewildered expression on her face only grew as she replied, "I said, who's Clara? I've never heard of her before".

"But, but she...another version of her was in Victorian London, you both met her, she died and you blame"- the Doctor's attempt to explain who Clara was got cut off when Charlotte pressed her hand over his mouth. "Don't upset my best friend, Doctor" she warned, before taking her hand away and turning back to Laura. "What were you actually doing before we found you just now?"

Laura looked over her shoulder and pointed at a stall, explaining "I was over there, buying something. I think it was called demintacer…?"

"Deminticor?" the Doctor asked suddenly, and Laura nodded. Charlotte frowned, in confusion and worry, and questioned "Okay, wanna clue me in? What's deminticor?"

"It's a drug" the Doctor explained, his face grim, "It causes acute long term memory loss of whatever the user focuses on, and it's been outlawed here for almost a year". He strode up to the vendor who had sold the drug to Laura and advised him in a low, dangerous voice, "Give me a vial of antidote to the drug you just sold to my friend, and then pack up your stall and _leave_ ".

Charlotte turned to Laura and asked her, "How did you actually buy that stuff? You didn't have any money".

"Oh, I um…traded my bracelet for it…"

"What? But you loved that bracelet!" Charlotte said in dismay. She marched up to the vendor and demanded, "Give her the bracelet you took from her as well, now!"

The vendor held his hands/claws up in surrender and protested, "Look, I don't _have_ any antidote right now. Come back tomorrow".

"Liar" Charlotte accused immediately, eyes narrowed. She looked at the Doctor and questioned, "Why hasn't he been arrested already? Is everyone in on this drug business? Are we in the middle of a crime ring?"

"Don't know, don't know, and possibly" he replied in quick succession, before adding to the vendor, "Look, we don't want any trouble. If you can't give us an antidote then at the very least tell us where to find it".

"Well, perhaps if you asked _nicely_ " the vendor huffed, turning his nose up at them. Charlotte glared, her fists clenching…but then Laura stepped past her and asked simply, "Um, sir, could I have my bracelet back, and um, could you tell us where to find the antidote please?"

Much to Charlotte and the Doctor's surprise, the vendor actually obliged, handing over both the bracelet and a small vial. "Well, that was anti-climactic" Charlotte remarked bluntly. They went back to the square that the TARDIS was parked in; the Doctor was pleased to see it hadn't been traded away like it sometimes…okay, almost always was whenever he landed in a marketplace. He took the vial from Laura and scanned it to confirm its contents. "It's the antidote" he told her, handing it back, "But I should probably warn you, it tastes like orange juice after brushing your teeth and it'll make your head hurt".

Laura unscrewed the vial, took a deep breath and gulped it down. She quickly dropped it to the floor, clutching her head in pain, prompting Charlotte to ask frantically "Laura? Are you okay? How much does it hurt? How many fingers am I holding up?" she questioned, holding up four fingers when Laura opened her eyes again.

"Charlotte?"

"Yeah? Oh my gosh, have you forgotten _me_ now? I'm Charlotte Richards, your best friend, remember?"

"No, I know. I just wanted to say…I'm sorry" Laura said contritely, "I know I shouldn't have used that awful drug, I just…"

"You shouldn't have" the Doctor agreed sternly, "You're my responsibility and that means you have to do as I say. From now on, neither of you wanders off, and you don't touch anything alien unless I say it's okay, is that clear?"

Laura pouted slightly and stressed, "I really _am_ sorry Doctor; I promise, I won't do it again. I've just...never felt this guilty before. I hate making mistakes, and I made a massive one and I couldn't fix it...I just wanted to forget it had ever happened. I'm _really_ sorry".

Charlotte put an arm around her shoulders and pleaded, "Don't be too hard on her...it isn't like she knew the drug would wipe _all_ her memory of Clara. We promise we'll listen to you, honest. Cross our hearts". She and Laura made 'X' signs over the general area where their hearts were.

"I'll hold you to that" the Doctor nodded, before placing his hands on Laura's shoulders. "Clara's death really wasn't your fault" he told her firmly, "And somewhere out there, a Clara Oswald is still alive and breathing…actually, now that I think about it, do you two have any idea where to find her?" he asked, dropping his hands.

The two Whovians glanced at one another. "We do have…some ideas" Laura admitted slowly.

"Yes?"

"But we're not gonna tell you" Charlotte decided, "Till _after_ we've had an adventure, and got to the bottom of this possible deminticor crime ring mafia thing we might have stumbled across".

"It could be dangerous" he warned.

"The sooner we get used to that, the better, right?" Charlotte challenged. The Doctor smiled a bit, seeing how determined they were, and held a hand out. Charlotte stepped up on his right, Laura on his left, and off they went to investigate. "Besides, I kind of want to buy something that _isn't_ a memory erasing drug" Charlotte remarked casually.

"What were you planning to trade for it?"

"I'll just trade your bow tie…"

"Oi!"

/

I apologise if you wanted to see the 'crime ring' adventure, but if you're not aware I suck at creating original adventures…or at least pacing them out properly. Let's just say that there was a crime ring, they uncovered it, got captured, escaped, alerted the authorities, and stopped off at a restaurant selling Italian- like cuisine for lunch.

Just as a point of interest, 'Cieli Ambra' is actually Italian for 'amber skies' and deminticor was made by changing the word "dimenticare", which is Italian for 'forget'.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Bells of Saint John Pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

The Bells of Saint John – Part One

The Doctor looked up from dusting the console as Charlotte and Laura walked in, mobile phones in their hands. "Feel better?" he asked Laura, who wiped a few stray tears away from her cheeks.

"Yeah, I prayed for forgiveness and I feel much better now" she nodded with a small smile. Charlotte held up her mobile phone and inquired, "We were wondering if you could give them universal roaming? You know, so we can call each other if we get lost or something". One by one, they handed their phones over for the Doctor to sonic; he handed them back and asked, "So, do you want to tell me where you think Clara is?"

Laura shrugged a bit and explained, "We don't know exactly where she is, we just know that she was staying at a house in London; it belonged to the Maitland family".

"We know it's not much to go on" Charlotte added apologetically, "The show never mentioned the address, but we figured the TARDIS could track down the house owner…his name is George, I think" she recalled. It was a bit vague, but she was pretty sure...at least she hoped she was. The Doctor moved to the other side of the console. "You're both having me run a lot of searches" he remarked, not unkindly.

Both Whovians glanced at one another. "I um, I don't suppose you've had any luck…?" Laura inquired hesitantly. He shook his head and informed them, "There's no sign of any breaches that could lead to another universe…which is a big place, mind, and the multiverse is even bigger".

Charlotte sighed. "Yeah, should've known it'd be too soon…are you using the Kepler Conjecture?" she asked curiously. The Doctor raised an eyebrow; she quickly explained "I don't know much about it; just that it's some kind of mathematical theory. If the universe is spherical, and there are other universes around it, only twelve other universes would be…linked, I suppose, at points specified by the Golden Ratio…of course, that's just one theoretical model for the structure of the multiverse. It's probably not really like that, is it?"

"Well, it's a good…guess" – the Doctor trailed off, as a phone began ringing. It wasn't coming from the console, however, but from outside the doors. He sighed and went out, picking up the phone from the outside of the TARDIS. Charlotte wondered why he'd ever rerouted the phone line in the first place.

"Hello?"

"Ah, hello. I can't find the internet" the young woman on the other side reported. The Doctor frowned in bewilderment. "Sorry?"

"It's gone, the internet. Can't find it anywhere, where is it?"

"The internet?" he asked incredulously. Laura's eyes widened, realising who it must be. "Doctor, who is it?" she asked hurriedly, wanting to confirm her suspicion. He looked at them helplessly, lowering the phone and replying "Somebody looking for the internet, apparently…what do I say?"

"Oh for goodness sake, give it here" Charlotte said with a roll of her eyes, taking the phone from him. She put on a smile and spoke into it, "Hello, my name is Charlotte, how can I help you? And apologies for the previous person…he's new".

"Oh! Right, yeah…So, uh, why don't I have internet? Shouldn't it just sort of…be there?" a familiar voice asked…it was Clara alright.

"Okay, listen. In the bottom right corner of your screen, there should be a symbol, it probably looks something like three or four semi-circles; if you hover your mouse over it there's a label saying 'Wi-Fi' or 'internet connection'".

"…Got it; a menu came up, what do I do?"

"Look for one you recognise and click on it" Charlotte explained patiently. She wondered how Clara managed without knowing the ins and outs of the internet…then again, she was a veritable Wi-Fi addict, so she was probably biased or something.

"This makes no sense; it's twelve oh seven!" the Doctor insisted, referring to the time period he'd landed in, Cumbria to be exact. Charlotte shushed him, but Clara had overheard. "Twelve oh seven? I've got half past three…am I phoning a different time zone?"

"Technically, yes" Charlotte replied, amused.

"Will it show up on the bill?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Have you found a Wi-Fi connection yet?"

"Yeah, but now it's asking me for a password" Clara explained; Charlotte was about to suggest asking someone in the house for the password, when the Doctor took the phone back from her. "How did you get this number?" he demanded, a bit rudely.

"Is that the new guy? Actually, never mind; the woman in the shop wrote it down. It's a help line, isn't it? She said it's the best help line out there. In the universe, she said".

"What woman? Who was she?"

"I don't know, the woman in the shop. Hang on a mo…" the Doctor waited impatiently – he heard someone else talking in the background – and then Clara spoke again, "Run you clever boy, and remember, one, two, three".

The Doctor's eyes widened; it was Clara, how could he have _missed_ that? He was getting old. "What did you say?!"

"Don't shout. Now you've made me type it wrong. It's thrown me out again. What do I do? How do I get back in?" Clara asked frantically; but the Doctor was too busy sonicking the phone and putting it back on the hook. He ran to the console – he could trace the call and find Clara straight away, never mind searching for some George person.

Laura and Charlotte clung on tight as the TARDIS sped through time and space. "You're really bad at recognising voices!" Charlotte called over the noise of the engines.

"I know, I know!"

"I mean I'm not that good either, but you're setting a consecutive record!" she laughed.

"Oi!" the Doctor grumbled, mock offended. The TARDIS landed with a thump; he quickly checked the co-ordinates. They were in London, on Earth, just as Laura had said. He ran for the door and out into the street, hurrying up to the door of a detached suburban house and knocking enthusiastically. Charlotte and Laura followed at a more leisurely place, wanting to just watch the scenario unfold…it was probably going to be hilarious.

Impatient, the Doctor pressed the doorbell button a few times. "Hello? Yes, I hear you" he heard Clara call exasperatedly from inside. She opened the door to see a young man with floppy brown hair and dark green eyes, wearing a tweed jacket and a bow tie, rather old fashioned clothes... "Hello" she greeted, eyeing him oddly.

"Clara" he beamed, "Clara Oswald".

"Hello…"

"Clara Oswin Oswald!"

"Just Clara Oswald; what was that middle one?"

"Do you remember me? Us?" he asked, stepping aside and gesturing to two young women behind him. The one on the left was a bit round, with short blonde hair and blue eyes behind glasses; the one on the right was thinner, with longer brown hair and dark blue eyes. Clara had never seen any of them in her life. "No, should I? Who are you?" she asked.

"The Doctor, Laura, Charlotte" the Doctor introduced them all, pointing to each one in turn. Clara showed no sign of recognition. "No?"

"Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor…actually, sorry, could you start all that again?"

"Could I what?"

"Could you just ask me that question again?"

"Doctor who?"

"Okay, just once more".

"…Doctor who?"

Charlotte and Laura stifled sniggers as the Doctor danced a bit, _badly,_ on the spot. "Ooh, yeah, ooh – do you know, I never realised how much I enjoy hearing that said out loud" he told them with a grin, before turning to Clara and saying, "Thank you".

"Okay" she said bluntly, before shutting the door in his face. The happy smile vanished, replaced with a look of consternation. "Hey, no, Clara, please. Clara, I need to talk to you. Listen. Please" he pleaded, knocking on the door again, but to no avail. He turned to the girls behind him and asked them, "Why did she do that?"

"Most people get weirded out if a stranger turns up on their doorstep and says he knows them…and nobody's stranger than you" Charlotte joked. The Doctor pointed at her, opened his mouth, and then closed it again. He looked from the door to her and back. "You should talk to her, she'll recognise your voice" he suggested brightly, tugging her up to the door.

Charlotte pulled her arm out of his grip. "She probably recognised you as well, as the strange new guy at a call centre who kept interrupting me" she remarked, "And besides, won't she be confused if she does recognise me and wonders what I'm doing here?"

"Well, you can't confuse her any more than she is already".

"Hmm, fair point. Fine, but this probably isn't going to work".

"It's worth a shot" the Doctor insisted, watching anxiously as Charlotte rang the doorbell. Clara didn't answer the door, probably because she thought it was the Doctor, so Charlotte leaned in and called, "Clara? It's Charlotte, we were talking on the phone earlier?"

There was a buzzing sound, and Clara's voice emerged out of an intercom. "That was you on the phone?" she asked. Charlotte moved to look at the small screen and replied, "Yeah, it was me".

"What are you doing here?"

"We just happened to be in the neighbourhood" the Doctor interrupted, "I was just on my mobile phone" he added, pointing at the TARDIS behind him.

"When you say mobile phone, why do you point at that blue box?"

"Because it's a surprisingly accurate description" the Doctor retorted; Charlotte pushed him aside and said to Clara, "Ignore him. Listen, can we come in? I promise we're not dangerous or anything".

"I might let you in, if you tell me who you are".

"I'm Charlotte, this is my best friend Laura, and the other guy is the Doctor…we're his carers" Charlotte explained, ignoring the Doctor's indignant shout of "Oi!"

"Carers?" Clara asked sceptically. Charlotte weighed her options, and then sighed. "I'd love to tell you the truth, but to be honest it's more ridiculous than a lie would be" she admitted.

"Try me".

"If you insist…we're not technically the Doctor's carers, and yes, that is his actual name. I don't actually work in a call centre, either; I just go on the internet a lot, I know how to find it".

"So where _do_ you work?"

"At a manufacturing firm…I'm on holiday right now" Charlotte explained; it was sort of true. "Look, I know this all seems odd, but I swear, we're not dangerous or anything. Can we come in?" she asked hopefully. If Clara just let them in, they could save her from the Spoonhead without altering the timelines too much. Clara seemed to consider it. "Wait there" she said finally, switching off the intercom.

She turned to go up the stairs and fetch her laptop, but then she heard a creak and the sound of a door closing. That was odd; she was sure she'd been alone. "Angie? Angie, you upstairs? Angie, you still here?" she called, assuming that the girl had come back to fetch something she'd forgotten. It wouldn't be the first time.

Someone came down the stairs, but it wasn't Angie; it was a strangely familiar young girl, dressed in a white frock, her brown hair tied back and smooth against her head. She stared at Clara with an impassive expression.

"…Hello".

"Hello".

"Are you a friend of Angie's?"

"I'm a friend of Angie's".

"What were you doing upstairs?"

"I was upstairs".

Clara eyed the girl, realising there was something odd about the way she spoke…no normal child talked like that. She seemed so familiar… "I know you, don't I?"

"You know me, don't you?"

Suddenly, Clara recalled where she'd seen this girl before – on the cover of _Summer Falls,_ the book Artie had been reading. She gasped as the girl stiffened, her head slowly revolving one hundred and eighty degrees. The back of her head was just a concave dish; before Clara could do anything, even cry out for help, a burst of light struck out of the dish and engulfed her.

Outside, Charlotte was starting to get worried…Clara was taking a while. She examined the intercom and pressed what she thought was the 'on' button. "Clara? Clara, can you hear me?"

"Hello?"

"Is everything alright?"

"I don't understand…" Clara said slowly, and Charlotte realised what must have happened. She looked at the Doctor and said urgently, "Open the door!"

"What? Why?"

"Cos she's in trouble!" Charlotte exclaimed, pressing the intercom button again. "I don't know…" Clara's voice emerged, "…Where I am. I don't know where I am. Where am I? Please tell me where I am. I don't know where I am!"

"The Spoonhead's got her!" Laura cried in dismay, hurrying forwards. The Doctor sonicked the lock and went in, finding Clara lying unconscious on the floor. He scanned her quickly; her brainwaves were wiped, her body operating at the bare minimum – she was dying.

"Look!" Laura gasped, pointing at what looked like a girl with a concave dish in the back of her head. Clara was visible in the dish, looking around her in alarm. "I don't know where I am. I don't know where I am. I don't understand. I don't know where I am! I don't understand. I don't know where I am" she said frantically, over and over.

Laura wrung her hands. "It's uploading her, Doctor, what do we do?"

"Get the laptop!" Charlotte declared, squeezing past the Spoonhead and running upstairs. She found the attic bedroom, just as it was on the show, with the laptop on a desk and grabbed it. When she hurried back downstairs, the Spoonhead had its disguise stripped away. The Doctor reached past the robot and took the laptop off her. "Oh, no you don't" he muttered, typing in commands at a rapid pace.

Clara was still repeating "I don't know where I am, please tell me where I am. Where am I?"

Distressed and feeling helpless, Laura looked into the robot and tried to call to her. "Clara? Listen, it's alright! We're going to save you!"

"I don't know where I am, please tell me where I am. Where am I? I don't know where I am…"

"Laura, I don't think she can hear you" Charlotte told her, "I think she's just looping". Laura looked at the Spoonhead once more, and then knelt down beside Clara's prone form, holding her hand. Charlotte carefully moved past the Doctor and knelt down next to her.

The Doctor kept tying, trying to reverse what had been done to Clara. Other commands began flashing across the screen; whoever wanted her wasn't giving up without a fight, but neither was he. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no" he declared, "Not this time, Clara, I promise". More and more commands were typed, but he knew computer tricks that would make any Bill Gates envious…he'd given Bill Gates _tips,_ for goodness sake.

At last, his commands cancelled out the others; a stream of energy beamed out of the mobile base station on the stairs, and entered Clara's head. She gasped and shifted, but didn't wake up. "It's alright, Clara" Laura smiled, "You're safe now".

Charlotte gave a sigh of relief and smiled at Laura, then at the Doctor. "Nice speed" she complimented, high fiving him. Then she looked at the robot and asked, "What do we do with that thing?"

The Doctor flashed the sonic at it – the screen in its 'head' went dark and it slumped forward a bit, obviously de-activated. "I want to find out how that works, but first…" he took the laptop and sent a message to the people who had tried to upload Clara's mind. 'UNDER MY PROTECTION – The Doctor'.

/

Laura and Charlotte helped the Doctor take the base station robot into the TARDIS, for him to examine later; then he carried Clara to bed, telling them that she'd be fine; she just needed some time for her synapses to heal after the intrusion. He put a jug and glass of water on her bedside table, flowers, and some Jammy Dodgers for a snack. He bit into one, savouring the taste, and put it down on the plate.

"You can't leave her a half-eaten one" Charlotte hissed at him, but the Doctor was distracted by a book entitled '101 Places to See'. Tucked in between the first and second pages was a pressed maple leaf; the Doctor looked at quizzically, and then licked it. He stuck his tongue out – it was just a leaf, which was a bit disappointing – and put it back.

Later that night, the three of them were sitting around a small table outside the TARDIS. The remains of the base station robot lay on the table, and the Doctor had Clara's laptop. "Hello?" Clara called, and they looked up to see her leaning out of the attic window, looking down at them. The Doctor jumped to his feet, smiling at her. "Hello! Are you alright?"

"I'm in bed".

"Technically, you're at your window" Charlotte couldn't help but riposte. Clara rolled her eyes a bit and replied, "Okay, butI _was_ in bed. Don't remember going..."

"It's alright if you don't" Laura called, wanting to reassure her in some way. Clara hesitated, and then inquired, "What did I miss?"

"Oh, quite a lot, actually" the Doctor informed her, pulling a small notebook out of his pocket. "Angie called. She's going to stay over at Nina's. Apparently that's all completely fine and you shouldn't worry like you always do. For god's sake get off her back. Also, your dad phoned, mainly about the government. He seems very cross with them, I've got several pages on that. I said I'd look into it. I fixed that rattling noise in the washing machine, indexed the kitchen cupboards, optimised photosynthesis in the main flower bed and assembled a quadricycle" he finished.

Clara blinked at this torrent of information. "Assembled a what?"

"I found a disassembled quadricycle in the garage".

"I don't think you did".

"That's what I said" Charlotte nodded, "But he didn't listen".

"…I _invented_ the quadricycle, ha!"

"What happened to me?" Clara inquired, getting back on topic. The last thing she remembered clearly was seeing the girl from a book cover standing on the stairs…everything after that was oddly fuzzy.

"Don't you remember?"

"I was scared; really scared. Didn't know where I was".

"Do you know now?"

"Yes…"

"Well then, you should go to sleep. Because you're safe now, I promise. Goodnight, Clara".

"Yeah, goodnight, sleep well" Laura smiled up at her. Clara retreated back into her bedroom, and the two Whovians mentally counted. _5, 4, 3, 2, 1-_ "Are you guarding me?" she asked, sticking her head out of the window again.

"I suppose you could say that" Charlotte agreed. They were technically guarding Clara from another Spoonhead attack, and she'd been periodically looking around the street for any sign of trouble. Vigilance, that was the key word here.

"Are you three seriously going to sit down there all night?" Clara asked her incredulously. She shrugged and replied, "Probably; Laura and I caught up on our sleep earlier, we're going to be jet lagged later on but it's worth it".

"We promise we won't budge from this spot" the Doctor said firmly.

"Well then" Clara decided, "I'll have to come to you". She closed her window, went downstairs (after checking up on Artie, who was fast asleep in bed) and found a note on the kitchen table from Mr Maitland, confirming that Angie was staying at her friend's house for the night. Once she'd made herself a cup of tea, she took the mug and a chair out to sit with the Doctor, Laura and Charlotte.

"I like your house" the Doctor remarked, trying to make 'small talk'. It was odd, really – he almost wasn't sure what to say to Clara, he wanted to thank her for saving his life twice, but she didn't remember any of it…or it hadn't happened for her yet, same difference. He didn't understand what she was, how she could be…she was a mystery and his interest was well and truly piqued.

She sat down on her chair and explained, "It isn't mine. I'm a friend of the family".

"But you look after the kids" he pointed out, before realising, "Oh yes, you're a governess, aren't you, just like"- he cut himself off, and it wasn't because Charlotte had nudged his leg with her foot. He didn't need reminding that this was a different Clara to the one they'd met previously…even if she did look and sound identical.

Clara raised an eyebrow and asked, "Just like what?"

"Just like…we thought you probably would be".

Laura held a hand out; she wanted to hug Clara, and apologise profusely for everything she'd done, but she knew it would be rather pointless. "I didn't really introduce myself before" she explained, "My name's Laura Seamer. It's really nice to meet you".

"Likewise" Clara nodded, shaking their hands and then inquiring, "Are any of you going to explain what happened to me?"

"There's something in the Wi-Fi" the Doctor began, something in his tone arresting Clara's attention.

"Okay…"

"This whole world is swimming in Wi-Fi. We're living in a Wi-Fi soup. Suppose something got inside it. Suppose there was something living in the Wi-Fi, harvesting human minds, extracting them. Imagine that. Human souls trapped like flies in the world-wide web. Stuck forever, crying out for help".

Clara mulled that over a bit, and then jokingly remarked, "Isn't that basically Twitter?"

Laura and Charlotte snickered a bit at that; the Doctor just looked dismayed, and worried. "What's that face for?" Clara asked, noticing his less than amused expression.

"A computer can hack another computer. A living, sentient computer - maybe that could hack people. Edit them. Re-write them" he said seriously.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because a few hours ago you knew nothing about the internet; and you just made a joke about _Twitter_ " he pointed out.

Clara blinked, and then her brow creased slightly in consternation. "Oh. Oh, that's weird. I know all about computers now in my head. Where did all that come from?"

"Whoever uploaded you, they must have added something extra" Laura explained, "And something tells me they might want it back" she finished nervously.

"We've got company" Charlotte warned, getting to her feet. The Doctor jumped to his, following her gaze to a man beneath a lamp-post, very still, _too_ still. "All of us, inside that box, now" he instructed. Laura and Charlotte immediately moved to do as they were told, but Clara of course had no idea what was going on. "I'm sorry?" she demanded, none too happy with being ordered about and not getting any real answers.

"Just come inside, Clara, please. You'll understand once you're in" Laura begged her.

"I bet I will. What is that box, anyway? Why have you got a box? Is it like a snogging booth?"

"Clara!" the Doctor said impatiently, but then he frowned, "A _what_?"

"Is that what you do, bring a booth? There is such a thing as too keen" Clara commented. Charlotte resisted the urge to laugh at their conversation. "Not now" she muttered to herself, looking around at the lights turning on in windows, "I think we've got bigger problems" she said aloud.

"What's going on?" asked Clara, "What's happening? Is the Wi-Fi switching on the lights?"

"No, people are switching on the lights" the Doctor replied, as if it should be obvious, "the Wi-Fi is switching on the people".

Laura was standing in the doorway of the TARDIS, anxious; she looked over at the robot beneath the lamppost and saw its head rotating. "Doctor!"

He spun around at her cry and flashed his sonic at the robot, blocking the signal so that it couldn't upload them. Clara stared at it in disbelief. "What is that thing?"

"A walking base station, you saw one earlier".

"I saw a little girl…"

"It must have taken an image from your subconscious, thrown it back at you. Ah! Active camouflage" the Doctor realised, "They could be everywhere".

Clara didn't understand, but before she could ask what he meant, Charlotte said, "Doctor, the lights, behind us". They all looked past the Maitland home to the streets beyond; the lights of those houses were being turned off. It was the same everywhere they looked; the lights were switching back off, _except_ the ones in that street. "What's going on?" Clara frowned in bewilderment, "Our lights are on and everyone else's off. Why?"

" _Shh_ " Charlotte hushed quickly; they listened, and heard a distinctive roar…the sound of an aeroplane engine. "Some planes have Wi-Fi…" the Doctor realised.

"I'm sorry?"

"He means this street is about to become an impromptu landing strip" Charlotte announced tensely, her gaze on small lights blinking in the sky, heading right for them at a worrying speed. The Doctor pulled her by the arm towards the TARDIS, saying "You three, box, right now!"

"Yes, it's a spaceship" he said once they were all inside, speaking to Clara, "Yes, it's bigger on the inside. No, I don't have time to talk about it!"

"But, but, but, but it's…" she stammered, staring wide eyed. The cup of tea she was holding sloshed in her grip; Charlotte briefly noted that in the actual universe, Clara had not managed to go the whole time without spilling any of her drink, and suggested "You might want to put that down".

"Shut up, please" the Doctor insisted, "Short hops are difficult".

"But it's bigger, on the inside, actually bigger!" Clara exclaimed, dumbfounded. Some tea leaked from the mug, and Laura took it from her, holding one hand over the top to stop it from spilling. She winced a bit as the hot tea splashed on her palm when they landed with the usual thump.

"Right, come on" – the Doctor rushed from the console, grabbing Clara's hand and pulling her towards the door.

"We're going to go back out there?"

"We've moved. It's a spaceship, we flew away".

"Away from the plane?"

"Aha, not exactly!" he grinned, pushing the door open and stumbling out into the aisle of the aeroplane; which unlike the TARDIS, was lying at a definite downward slope. Clara and Charlotte followed him out; Laura paused to place the mug of tea on the now still console, before hurrying to catch up.

"How did we get here?" Clara demanded, clinging to the headrests for balance.

"It's a ship, I told you. It's all very science-y!"

"This is the plane? The actual plane? Are they all dead?"

"What else would it be?" Charlotte asked incredulously, just before the Doctor scanned one passenger and explained, "Asleep, switched off by the Wi-Fi. Never mind them!" he declared, getting to the front of the plane and sonicking his way into the cockpit. The pilot and co-pilot were both passed out, they were heading for the city at an alarming speed, and Clara was just freaking out. "What is going on? Is this real? Please, tell me what is happening!"

"I'm the Doctor, I'm an alien from outer space, I'm a thousand years old, I've got two hearts and I can't fly a plane! Can you?"

"No!"

"Pull that thing back!" Charlotte directed frantically, pointing at the yoke. The Doctor grabbed the stiff device and pulled back with all his might. The three women all tried to help pull it back further, and the four of them managed to get the nose of the plane up enough for it to sweep over the roof-tops and start regaining altitude.

"Whoo!" the Doctor grinned, "Would a victory roll be too showy off-y?"

"Do it in your own time, mate" Charlotte panted, patting him on the shoulder. She moved out of the cramped space as the pilot and co-pilot began waking up. "What the hell's going on?" the former demanded upon seeing a complete stranger in the cockpit. The Doctor flashed his sonic at some controls and explained, "Well, I'm blocking your Wi-Fi so you're waking up, for a start. Tell you what, do you want to drive?" he offered.

/

They returned to the TARDIS; Clara picked her tea up off the console and took a sip. "Okay. When are you going to explain to me what the hell is going on?" she demanded of the Doctor, since he seemed to be the one with all the answers. He landed the TARDIS, more smoothly this time since he wasn't trying to lock onto a moving target, and replied "Breakfast".

"What? I ain't waiting till breakfast".

"It's a time machine. You never have to wait for breakfast" the Doctor informed her, before stepping out of the TARDIS. The sun was shining, and a small crowd of passers-by were applauding. "Thank you, thank you! Yes, magic blue box", the Doctor pulled a fez out of his dimensionally transcendental pocket with a flourish, "All donations gratefully accepted. Roll up, give us your dosh. Pennies, pounds, anything you've got" he encouraged as people came and dropped coins into the hat.

He passed it to Clara and told her, "Keep collecting. We need enough for breakfast. Just popping back to the garage" he added casually, retreating back into the TARDIS. Clara's brow creased in bewilderment. "Garage?" she asked, looking at Laura and Charlotte, "He's got a garage in there?"

Charlotte shrugged, "Apparently".

More people dropped money into the fez, until they had quite a large amount. "So this is tomorrow, then. Tomorrow's come early" Clara commented.

"It hasn't really come early; we just took a short cut" Laura explained, moments before the Doctor re-emerged from the TARDIS on a motorbike, a sidecar attached to it. There were helmets in the sidecar that they donned, and then Charlotte genially let Laura sit in the side car. "Thank you, thank you; tomorrow, a camel!" the Doctor declared grandly, transferring the money in the fez to his pocket and dropping the hat onto the head of a little boy.

They sped off through the streets of London; at first Charlotte and Laura had their eyes firmly shut, the speed of the bike alarming them…but they gradually plucked up the courage to peek at the blur of buildings, vehicles and people whooshing past. Charlotte somewhat regretted letting Laura sit in the sidecar; she wanted her best friend to feel safe, but now _she_ didn't feel particularly safe. Her knuckles were white from clinging onto some sort of handle on the sides of the bike, and when they swerved round a corner she couldn't help but scream a bit.

Fortunately, the others shrieked a bit as well, and the Doctor realised he'd been going much faster than he thought. "Sorry!" he called apologetically over the roar of the engines, slowing the bike down. "Better?"

"Y -yeah!" came the shaky reply from Clara; Charlotte was still too busy trying not to fall off. _I swear, next time,_ I'm _sitting in the sidecar. I hate motorcycles!_

"If you've got a flying time machine, why are we on a motorbike?" Clara asked the Doctor.

"I don't take the TARDIS into battle!"

"Because it's made of wood?"

"Because it's the most powerful ship in the universe and I don't want it falling into the wrong hands. Okay?"

"Okay!"


	6. Chapter 6 - The Bells of Saint John Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

The Bells of Saint John – Part Two

Hot chocolate with cream was just the thing soothe frazzled nerves. The four of them sat on the terrace of a rooftop café, overlooking St Paul's Cathedral, and in the distance, the Shard. Charlotte and the Doctor were on one side of the small table, with Laura and Clara sitting opposite them. "So, I take it the whole 'stick to the shadows' thing wasn't working out?" Charlotte smirked at the Doctor.

He glanced at her, and then looked back at the laptop he was working on…but he seemed to be blushing a little. Before he could come up with a retort, Clara inquired "So if we can travel anywhere in time and space, why did we travel to the morning, what's the point in that?"

"Whoever's after us spent the whole night looking for us" the Doctor reminded her, "Are you tired?"

"Yes" she replied bluntly. The Doctor gave her an incredulous stare; she'd been asleep for hours!

"What? Then imagine how they feel. They came the long way round".

Laura wiped a hot chocolate moustache off her upper lip and reasoned, "Plus, if they've been busy looking for us, they might not have uploaded too many more people".

The Doctor nodded in agreement, although he was distracted by trying to find their enemy's location. "They've got to be close" he muttered, "Definitely London going by the signal distribution. I can hack the lowest level of their operating system but I can't establish a physical location. The security's too good". Charlotte wondered just how good it really was; did they really have security that even someone as clever as the Doctor couldn't hack, or was this his way of testing how much Clara knew now that she'd been 'downloaded', in a way, with knowledge of computers?

Not for the first time, Laura wondered what would happen when another Spoonhead arrived, and if she should protect Clara. As far as she could figure out, Clara not being uploaded again wouldn't negatively change the timelines…the Doctor could still send the Spoonhead disguised as himself to the Shard, and upload that woman to make them download everybody; it would make up for her failure to save the Victorian Clara, and if anything could assuage her lingering guilt, that would be it.

Clara lowered her cup of coffee and asked, "Are you aliens?" The Doctor had mentioned he was an alien on the plane, and she hadn't really believed him, but he did have a time machine…she had wondered if the other two women were aliens as well.

"I am" the Doctor replied, "They're not".

"Nope, completely human" Charlotte agreed with a smile, "Born in Scarborough and Fleetwood, to be exact" she added, gesturing to herself and then her best friend. Clara turned to Laura and smiled, "Looks like we've got something in common, we're both from Lancashire".

"Are you okay?" the Doctor asked, seemingly out of the blue. "With me being an alien, I mean" he added in response to her quizzical look.

"Oh, yeah…think I'm fine".

"Oh, good" he nodded.

"So, what happens if you do find them? What happens then?"

"I don't know. I can't tell the future, I just work there".

"Except on Sundays, because they're boring, right?" Charlotte asked jokingly. The Doctor nodded, apparently thinking she was serious.

"How'd you two get involved in all this?" Clara asked them. Charlotte and Laura looked at one another, debating how much to tell her; it might not have been the best time to bring up the whole 'parallel universe where you're a fictional character' thing. "It's err, a bit of a long story" Laura hedged, "We kind of just…came across him, and things just…escalated, I suppose".

Clara nodded in understanding; then she paused and gave the Doctor a disbelieving look. "Wait, hang on. Don't you have a plan?" she asked, recalling that he'd admitted he didn't know what they'd do if he tracked these people down.

"Oh, you know what I always say about plans".

"What?"

"I don't have one".

"People always have plans".

"Yes. Yes, I suppose they do" the Doctor nodded, "So tell me, how long have you been looking after those kids?"

At first she hesitated. "…About a year" she answered, "Since their mum died".

"Okay. Why you? Family friend, I get that, but there must have been others. Why did it have to be you? You don't really seem like a nanny" he commented. Clara looked slightly offended at that remark. "Gimme" she declared suddenly, trying to pull the laptop towards her. The Doctor immediately tugged it back and protested, "Sorry, what?"

"You need to know where they physically are, their exact location" she stated, pulling it towards her.

"Yes" the Doctor agreed, pulling it back, the two Whovians simply watching the tug of war with amusement.

"I can do it" Clara said confidently, managing to pull the laptop out of the Doctor's hands and turn it around to face her.

"Oi, hang on. I need that".

"You've hacked the lower operating system, yeah? I'll have their physical location in under five minutes. Pop off and get us a coffee" Clara said casually, nodding towards the café proper as she began typing. Charlotte stifled a snigger at the indignant expression on the Doctor's face.

"If I can't find them, you definitely can't" he insisted.

"They uploaded me, remember? I've got computing stuff in my head".

"So do I!"

"I have insane hacking skills".

"I'm from space and the future with two hearts and twenty seven brains".

"And I can find them in under five minutes plus photographs" Clara retorted, before adding, "Twenty seven?"

"Okay…slight exaggeration".

"Coffee, go get" she bossed, "Five minutes, I promise".

"I'd like another drink" Laura remarked idly, "Why don't you go with the Doctor?" she suggested to Charlotte, who raised her eyebrows sceptically. Laura glanced over at Clara and the Doctor, and mouthed ' _Trust me'_ to her best friend. Charlotte sighed, and then pushed her chair back and stood up. "Alright; c'mon, Doctor, just let Clara have a go" she suggested, tugging at his sleeve. He sighed and got to his feet, warning Clara, "The security is absolute".

"It's never about the security, it's about the people" Clara replied with conviction. She looked up to see the Doctor eyeing her with an odd expression, as if he was looking at her but not really seeing her. He'd done that a few times, she'd noticed. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

"Sorry, no, it's nothing. It's just, you're a nanny. Isn't that a bit, well, Victorian?"

"Victorian?"

"You're young. Shouldn't you be doing, you know, young things, with young people?" he asked, doing a pretty bad impression of dancing; even Charlotte and Laura knew that dance style had gone out of style _years_ ago, and they weren't exactly with all the trends going on.

"You mean like you, for instance? Down, boy" Clara smirked, teasing. The Doctor blushed a bit and objected, "No, no, I didn't… Shut up".

/

The Doctor and Charlotte walked into the café, where the Time Lord was immediately distracted by the array of scones and cakes on display. "Two cappuccinos over there, please" he smiled at the elderly man behind the bar. "And a couple of hot chocolates too, please" Charlotte added man smiled and nodded, "One moment". The Doctor went back to looking at the cakes, debating whether to buy one, but Charlotte kept her eye on the barista.

Sure enough, there was a flash of blue light and the man stiffened. "You realise you haven't the slightest chance of saving your little friend" he said bluntly; the Doctor looked up and frowned at him. "I'm sorry, what?"

"One moment, sir" the barista told him, moving to the coffee dispenser. Charlotte nudged the Doctor and muttered to him, "It isn't him talking".

There was another slight flash, and the barista turned to them again. "I said, there's not the slightest chance of saving your little friend. And don't annoy the old man. As your other little friend has worked out, he isn't, in fact, speaking".

" _I'm_ speaking" a waitress said from behind them, "Just using whatever's to hand" she smirked. The Doctor eyed her suspiciously, moving so that Charlotte was behind him. The woman looked over his shoulder towards the terrace and remarked, "Oh, she's rather pretty, isn't she? Do you like her? Make her like you too, if you want". There was a flicker and the waitress blinked at the strange man staring at her. "You alright, sir?"

"Err, yes, yes, fine" he said quickly, pulling back out of her personal space. The waitress gave them both an odd look and walked away; the Doctor then grabbed Charlotte's hand and ran back out to the terrace with her. Both Clara and Laura were still there, the former typing with rapid speed. "You okay?" the Doctor asked them.

"We're fine" Laura replied. Clara nodded, and said "Sure. Setting up stuff. Need a user name".

"Learning fast" he commented.

Clara grinned. "Clara Oswald for the win – Oswin!" she exclaimed, coming up with a user name. For a moment the Doctor flashed back to the Dalek Asylum. _"You can always call me Oswin, seeing as that's my name_ ".

He swallowed, and headed back into the café; Charlotte made to follow him, but then paused. "Are you sure you're okay, Laura?" she asked; she had a suspicion about why Laura had asked _her_ to go with the Doctor, but she couldn't confirm it with Clara being there. She just really hoped Laura knew what she was doing.

"Yeah, I'm okay".

"Kay – call us if you need us" Charlotte added, before going back inside the café. The Doctor was facing a little girl with a dark expression, although she knew it wasn't directed at the child but at the person using said child as a mouthpiece. Charlotte didn't blame him; _she_ thought these people were despicable.

"Just let me show you what control of the Wi-Fi can do for you. Stop!" the little girl ordered. Charlotte had been walking towards the Doctor, but she froze in place with all the rest. He didn't notice that her expression wasn't quite as blank as the others.

"I saw what you can do last night" the Doctor glared, "Now stop controlling them".

"And clear!" the little girl commanded instead, before she and everyone else filed out of the café, including Charlotte. Once the entire room was clear, a newsreader on a TV over in the corner spoke up, "We can hack anyone in the Wi-Fi once they've been exposed long enough".

"Well, that explains me" Charlotte commented, striding over to the Doctor, having stopped the charade as soon as she stepped foot out of the café. "I haven't been on the web recently, so I can't have been affected, if it only works with people exposed to the Wi-Fi around here" she worked out. The Doctor grinned at her, both for her deductions and seeing that she was alright.

"Aren't you quite the actress" the newsreader remarked dryly.

"I'll take that as a compliment…Miss Kizlet".

"You know who I am?"

"We do now, you just told us".

"And you're a comedian, too. You couldn't have guessed my name, it's hardly common".

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't know your first name. Your parents would know, of course. You do remember your parents, right?"

"I don't have time for foolish questions" Miss Kizlet replied via the newsreader. The Doctor wondered why Charlotte had asked the woman about her parents, but dismissed it; he had other things to worry about. "So there's one of your walking base stations here, somewhere close" he stated, wanting to draw attention away from Charlotte, worried that she was making herself a target.

"There's always someone close. We've released thousands into the world. They home in on the Wi-Fi like rats sniffing cheese".

"I don't know why you're doing this" the Doctor scowled, as he strode past the tables and towards the TV, "but the people of this world will not be harmed. They will not be controlled. They will not be"-

"The people of this world are in no danger whatsoever. My client requires a steady diet of living human minds. Healthy, free-range, human minds. He loves and cares for humanity. In fact, he can't get enough of it".

"It's obscene. It's _murder_ ".

"It's life" she replied dismissively, "The farmer tends his flock like a loving parent. The abattoir is not a contradiction. No one loves cattle more than Burger King".

"Human beings are _not_ cattle!" the Doctor fumed, staring angrily at the woman. "They're not livestock, but you're still slaughtering them. That ends today".

"Slaughter? Such emotive language" the woman smirked, "The people we upload are really quite unharmed. We're providing them immortality…the only catch is that it's fatal".

"No offence" said Charlotte as she came up beside the Doctor, "But has anyone ever told you you're completely insane?"

"Don't" the Doctor interrupted before Miss Kizlet could reply, giving Charlotte a warning look, "Just don't". She would make herself a target if she kept antagonising the woman like that; she probably didn't intend that to happen, but he still felt obliged to warn her away. Fortunately, Charlotte didn't question him; instead she simply nodded and stepped back slightly.

He looked back at the television, where the newsreader was smirking at them. "This ends" he repeated, "I'm going to end this today".

"How?" she asked disbelievingly, "You don't even know where we are".

"Who's doing this? Who is your client, hmm? Answer me" the Doctor demanded.

Charlotte suddenly remembered the second Spoonhead, the one disguised as the Doctor. Like Laura, she too had concluded that Clara not getting captured wouldn't aversely change the timelines; so she cleared her throat and said, "I'm err, going to check on the others", backing away from the TV and then hurrying towards the terrace.

When she emerged, Clara was grinning triumphantly at her laptop. "I did it!" she said excitedly to Laura, "I really did. I did it. I did it. I found them".

Before Charlotte could say anything, the Doctor's voice behind her stated "You found them". She stiffened and spun around, alarmed at how the Spoonhead had sneaked up on her. Quickly she backed away and to the side, trying to get out of its range.

Clara was oblivious. "The Shard" she told the robot that she mistook for the Doctor, "They're in the Shard, floor sixty five".

"You two, come away from it" Charlotte ordered urgently. Laura quickly scrambled out of her chair, but Clara just frowned in bewilderment. "What…?"

"Clara, it's a robot" Laura told her, pointing at the 'Doctor' – whose head began to revolve. Clara's eyes widened in alarm, but she made no move to leave her seat. "Clara, run!" Laura said frantically; that got her moving, jumping up and hurrying towards Charlotte. The three of them fled into the café; Clara called out for the Doctor, and he ran over. His eyes widened at something behind them and he shouted, "No!"

It all happened so quickly – there was a flash of light, Laura screamed, and then collapsed to the ground as her image appeared in the server's 'head'. Charlotte immediately knelt down next to her best friend, panicked. "Oh no, no, no, no! Laura! No! Laura!"

"W-where am I? Did it get me? Can you guys hear me? Please, help me!" Laura pleaded, "W-where am I? Did it get me? Can you guys hear me? Please, help me!"

Charlotte's mind was clouded, but the Doctor's was clear. "Clara, get your laptop, _now_ " he ordered. She quickly ran to fetch it, and as soon as she did he began trying to download Laura back into her body. It was too late though; the upload completed and her image disappeared from view – much to Charlotte's horror. "Get her back" she demanded, standing up to face the Doctor, "Do something!"

"Charlotte, calm down"-

"Calm down? My best friend's trapped, and you're telling me to _calm down_?!"

"Look out!"

As part of the 'training' that the two Whovians had undertaken during their stay with Madame Vastra, they had practiced what Charlotte called 'The Drop'. Whenever someone shouted 'Look out', 'Duck', 'Down' or any other variation of 'take cover', they would drop into a crouch as fast as they could. Whilst their reactions weren't exactly swift, they'd gotten good enough at the technique.

The moment she heard the words "Look out!" leave Clara's lips, Charlotte dropped into a crouch – the Doctor pulled her down faster, having realised a split second before what was going on. The beam of light shot over their heads; the Doctor raised his sonic and flashed the robot, temporarily disabling it without getting rid of the disguise. He'd just come up with a plan, but there were two things he needed to know first.

"Are you okay?" he asked Charlotte. She nodded, but he could see her shaking. He squeezed her shoulder comfortingly before getting to his feet and turning to Clara. "Did you find out where they were?"

"Oh, yes! They're in the Shard, floor sixty five".

"Okay then" he nodded, serious, "Now for something I'm not always able to say".

"What?"

"I have a plan".

/

The Doctor raced towards the Shard on the motorbike, sidecar removed. He came to a stop on the street outside it, and a man eating chips remarked "Really, Doctor. A motorbike? Hardly seems like you".

"I rode this in the antigrav Olympics, 2074" the Doctor boasted, before admitting, "I came last".

"The building is in lock-down. I'm afraid you're not coming in".

He scoffed. "Did you even hear the word, antigrav?" Then he pressed a red button on the fuel tank, and roared away…straight up the side of the building. He pulled out his sonic and aimed it at a window on floor sixty five, shattering the glass as he reached it. The Doctor had dismounted the bike and sat down at the desk with his feet up by the time someone walked in. A middle aged, severe looking woman entered; Miss Kizlet, presumably. "Do come in" she remarked casually.

"Download her".

"Sorry about the draft" she added, gesturing to the now glass-less window.

"Download Laura back into her body right now".

"I can't" Miss Kizlet replied. It was a shame they'd captured the other one instead of Clara Oswald, but no matter.

"Yes, you can".

"She's a fully integrated part of the data cloud, now. She can't be separated".

"Then download the entire cloud. Everyone you've trapped in there".

"You realise what would happen?"

"Yes, those with bodies to go home to would be free" he replied, getting up from the desk.

"A tiny number; most would simply die".

"They'd be released from a living hell". The Doctor checked his watch. "It's the best you can do for them", he tapped her nose, "so give the order".

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I'm going to motivate you, any second now" he smirked, walking around her.

"You ridiculous man" Kizlet scoffed, "Why did you even come here? Whatever for?" she demanded.

"I didn't".

"What?"

"I'm still in the café. I'm finishing my coffee" he took a sip, "Lovely spot". He was sitting at a table in the abandoned café; Clara was sitting opposite him, and Charlotte was sitting on the floor beside Laura's unconscious form, holding her hand. The Doctor could see everything his robot duplicate was seeing; Miss Kizlet was staring at it in bewilderment and worry. "What are you talking about?" she asked suspiciously.

"You hack people, but me? I'm old fashioned. I hack technology" the robot replied, taking off its helmet. "Here's your motivation". It stiffened, whirring, its head starting to revolve. Miss Kizlet's eyes widened in fear; she backed up and cowered against her desk, pleading "No, not me! Not me!"

It was futile – the base station uploaded her to the data cloud, and she found herself trapped. Turning to where she knew her second in command Mahler would be watching, she ordered "Put me back. Put me back! Download me at once! That is an order. That is an order!"

"But she's fully integrated now" Alexi, one of the staff frowned, "We'll have to download the entire cloud. We can't do that".

"No, we can't" Mahler agreed. Miss Kizlet continued to shout, "Download me! _Download me_!"

In her office, the base station returned its head to the forward position, and picked up Kizlet's iPad. It flicked through the staff members until it came to Mahler, and turned the 'Obedience' slider up to maximum.

"Download me!" Kizlet screamed. Mahler was just about to insist that they didn't, but then…he changed his mind. "Do as she says" he instructed Alexi, who headed to his computer. One by one, all the faces of the people they'd trapped disappeared off the screens, with Miss Kizlet being the last to disappear.

/

Back in the café, Laura stirred slightly. Charlotte immediately perked up, searching her face for any sign that she was waking up. "She'll be fine" the Doctor reassured her, getting to his feet. He started walking away and Clara frowned, asking "Where're you going?"

"To fetch the TARDIS" he replied, "All the base stations will have shut down, and I sent the motorcycle with robot me…it'll be a bit of a walk. I've left the rest of the money; you can take the bus home. There's something I need to take care of" he explained, before walking away.

A few moments after he'd left, Laura stirred some more and blinked. "Hey, sleepy head, welcome back" Charlotte smiled down at her, relieved. Laura sat up and rubbed her head, feeling a bit woozy. "Uh…what happened?"

"The Spoonhead got you. It almost got me too, actually" Charlotte informed her, "But I ducked. Guess you need to practice the drop technique a bit more, huh?"

Laura bit her lip. "I um…I didn't duck on purpose" she admitted, looking askance. Both Clara and Charlotte's brows furrowed a bit. "You… _let_ the robot get you?" Charlotte asked incredulously.

"Why would you do that?" Clara inquired next.

"Well, I…I knew it was going after you" Laura told her, "But I didn't want it to get you again, so I…I just sort of…stepped in the way".

Clara wasn't sure whether to be disturbed that she'd come so close to being uploaded again, or touched that Laura had sacrificed herself… "You did that for me? Why?"

"You're my friend" Laura replied simply. Charlotte helped her to her feet, and hugged her tightly, saying "You did good – don't ever do that again".

"Okay" Laura nodded in agreement, before looking around, just realising someone was missing. "Say, where's the Doctor?"

"He said he was going to fetch the TARDIS" Clara explained, "But he has to walk back so he might be a while. He left us some money for bus fares".

"Do you know which bus we need to take?" asked Charlotte. Clara checked her watch and replied, "Yeah, there's one in about…ten minutes".

"Ah…better get a move on, hadn't we?"

/

Clara introduced Laura as two friends she'd made, who had come down from the north for a weekend trip from London. Mr Maitland was a nice, polite man; he invited them to stay for dinner, and they didn't want to refuse. Neither of them remembered if the Doctor had come back for Clara in the episode before or after they'd had dinner, so sticking around seemed like the best option.

Artie seemed to take after his father; Angie seemed less interested in their guests, giving a cursory "Hello", and going back to texting on her phone. Her father's admonishments and Angie's exasperated eye-rolling reminded Charlotte of herself and of her little sister Lucy. A pang of homesickness washed over her; what was her family doing now? How much time had passed for them? Were they still searching for her and Laura, or were they mourning?

In the end, the Doctor came back after dinner, when all the dishes had been cleared away. All three women walked up to the TARDIS, and Clara knocked on the door. "Come in" the Doctor's voice called, muffled by the wood. They stepped inside; Clara walked up to the console, and the Whovians stood to one side, waiting.

"So, he comes back does he?" asked Clara, smiling. The Doctor was sitting on the steps, reading a book with Amy's spectacles on. "You didn't answer my question" he said without looking up.

"What question?"

"You don't seem like a nanny".

"I was going to travel. I came to stay for a week before I left, and during that week…"

"She died" the Doctor finished for her, "So you're returning the favour; but a hundred and one places to see, and you haven't been to any of them, have you? That's why you keep the book" he said.

"I keep the book cos I'm still going" Clara replied with conviction.

"But you don't run out on the people you care about" the Doctor murmured, taking the glasses off, "Wish I was more like that. You know, the thing about a time machine, you can run away all you like and still be home in time for tea, so what do you say? Anywhere. All of time and space, right outside those doors" he offered Clara. He didn't want to lose her again, not after finding her and keeping her safe…besides, she and Laura had formed a friendship, and he figured his other companions would like her company.

Clara laughed, and asked "Does this work?"

"Eh?"

She giggled. "Is this actually what you do? Do you just crook your finger and people just jump in your snog box and fly away?"

"It is not a snog box" the Doctor insisted, ignoring the snorts of amusement from Laura and Charlotte.

"I'll be the judge of that".

"Starting when?"

Clara smiled softly. "Come back tomorrow. Ask me again" she suggested.

"Why?"

"Because tomorrow, I might say yes. Sometime after seven okay for you?" she asked brightly, heading for the door.

"It's a time machine, any time's okay".

"See you then" Clara nodded, before adding "It was nice meeting you all".

"Clara?" the Doctor called, and she paused. "In your book there was a leaf. Why?"

"That wasn't a leaf" Clara replied cryptically, "That was page one". With that, she opened the door and left. The Doctor was confused, but intrigued…more layers of the mystery that was Clara. "Right then, Clara Oswald. Time to find out who you are".

He set the TARDIS into flight, with no set destination in mind. When the slight turbulence of dematerialisation wore off, Charlotte stepped forward with a nervous, guilty expression. "I'm sorry" she said quickly, before the Doctor could ask her what was wrong, "I should have let you talk to Kizlet in the café. I guess I was just being over-confident, and…trying to look brave" she admitted in a small voice.

The Doctor sobered. "You were trying to impress me" he realised. Charlotte nodded.

"People have died trying to impress me".

She cringed, hanging her head, ashamed. "I know, I'm sorry" she repeated, before looking up at him with fear in her eyes. "You're not gonna kick me out, are you?" she asked worriedly.

"No…but you've both made mistakes that could have cost you so much" the Doctor said seriously, looking between them, "If you make another one, I might have to reconsider" he warned. He could let them stay with Madame Vastra, or buy them a small flat somewhere and let them stay safe on Earth whilst he worked on finding their home universe.

Charlotte looked worried at this prospect. "We won't make another big mistake like that" she promised, and Laura nodded emphatically in agreement. "From now on, we'll let you handle all the alien stuff. I think…we need rules, for our foreknowledge, I mean".

"Yes" the Doctor agreed, leaning back against the console. "How much foreknowledge do you have, exactly?"

The two Whovians looked at one another, and Laura replied "Not…not that much, actually. We just know about some of the future adventures".

"I think, from this point on we know about…" Charlotte counted on her fingers, "twenty-two adventures. Which isn't much, considering all the 'off-screen' adventures you must have; it'd probably be easier if we didn't have that foreknowledge, but I kind of want to know what's coming, you know?" she asked the Doctor, who nodded in understanding.

"I could make you forget safely" he offered, "I'd have to go into your minds and store the memories away, but I could do it, if you let me".

Both of them shifted uncomfortably. "I…I dunno" Charlotte said hesitantly, "I don't think I could keep my thoughts hidden, and well, there's a lot of weird stuff in here" she explained, tapping her temple. "Plus some of it's about you" she mumbled, not meeting his eyes. The Doctor had good hearing though, and he was about to ask her what this 'weird stuff' about him was, then decided that he probably didn't want to know. "What about you, Laura?"

"Um, I'm alright. I don't think I want my memories changed again…uh, no offence".

"None taken" the Doctor replied. He walked around the console, thinking hard. "Okay" he said at last, "Here's the plan – three rules. One, no spoilers; not to me, or to Clara, or to anyone, understand?"

"So…no telling people about their personal futures?" Charlotte guessed. The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Exactly! Rule number two, no saving people. If you know someone is going to die it becomes fixed, and changing it could summon the Reapers. Do you know what the Reapers are?" he asked, waiting until they'd both nodded before continuing, "Rule three, if in doubt, ask me. As long as it doesn't involve my future, tell me what you want to do and I can tell if it's safe to tweak the timelines a bit. Don't tell me too much beforehand though; I want to be surprised".

"Got it" Laura nodded, "We'll follow the rules, we promise".

"Yeah, we promise. So, I guess there's just one thing left to say then", Charlotte smiled at the Doctor, "Geronimo".

/

A/N: Thus ends 'The Bells of Saint John'. Just to note, Charlotte's fear of being 'kicked out' will be brought up and addressed in a later chapter.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Rings of Akhaten Pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

The Rings of Akhaten – Part One

It was a windy autumn day in Blackpool, 1981. The Doctor, Laura and Charlotte sat on a bench, peeking from behind a Beano magazine and a newspaper, watching a young man walking along the opposite pavement. In his efforts to figure out who Clara was, the Doctor had decided to stalk her…well, that was how Charlotte had described it, he preferred to think of it as 'timey wimey investigating'.

The man they were spying on was struggling to read what looked like a map. A dead maple leaf was blown off a nearby tree and right into his face, startling him so much that he stumbled out onto the road in front of a car. _Who gets that spooked by a leaf?_ Charlotte wondered, as they watched a young woman pull the man to safety. They spoke to one another and smiled, clearly smitten with each other. "Don't they look cute together?" said Laura, ever the romantic.

Straight afterwards, relatively speaking, the intrepid trio watched Dave Oswald and Ellie Ravenwood come home from a date, giggling under an umbrella in the pouring rain. The noise of the rain made it impossible to hear what the couple were saying, but they saw Dave giving Ellie the leaf that had led him to meeting her, and the Whovians knew he was calling it "The most important leaf in human history". Then they kissed, and the Doctor looked away. Charlotte smirked in amusement and tugged him back towards the TARDIS.

Their third encounter with the couple happened in a park, where a young Clara Oswald had just kicked a ball at the Doctor's head. Charlotte and Laura couldn't help but laugh as he fell and then jumped up, striking a martial arts pose. "Oh my stars, are you alright?" Clara's mother asked as she hurried over.

"Fine" the Doctor replied quickly, "Marvellous, refulgent…possibly a bit embarrassed. That's not dangerous, is it?"

"What's not?"

"Embarrassment"

"Not usually. Not to my knowledge".

"Good. Hey. Phew" the Doctor nodded at Dave, who gave him a sheepish apologetic grin. "Mate, I'm so sorry. She wants to be Bryan Robson" he said, gesturing to his daughter.

"No worries, my fault. No harm done. Hello there" he smiled at the little girl, glancing at Ellie as if to ask her name, even though he knew it already. "Clara" she prompted.

"Ah, hello there, Clara" the Doctor greeted; then Laura stepped forward, holding the blue and yellow football. "Here's your ball back" she said, handing it over to Dave, "I'm Laura, by the way, and this is Charlotte and…John".

"Thanks. Clara, say thank you".

"Thank you".

"You're welcome".

Clara dropped the ball and kicked it away again, running after it. The three time travellers bid farewell to her parents and headed back to the TARDIS. "Are you sure she won't remember us?" Charlotte asked the Doctor.

"Do _you_ remember who you met when you were six?"

"…Hmm, fair point" she conceded, pulling a packet of Jelly Babies out of her pocket to snack on and sharing them around.

They followed Clara's timeline through a few more key events, such as her first days at primary and secondary school (both normal, no sign of Krillitanes or Fish Vampires). One major event, the Doctor observed alone. Laura felt uncomfortable with spying on Clara when she was mourning her mother, and Charlotte had stayed behind with her in the TARDIS.

Both of them were waiting in the console room when the Doctor walked back in, and switched on the scanner, bringing up an image of the Clara they'd met in Victorian times. "She's just a girl" he sighed, "How can she be?"

The scanner switched to displaying Oswin's ID from the Starship _Alaska._ "She can't be!" he exclaimed, before the scanner displayed the current Clara tossing her mortarboard in the air after graduating. "She is! She _can't_ be. She's _not possible_ " he declared, pushing the scanner away.

"Someone's getting stressed" Charlotte remarked from where she was sitting on the steps besides Laura.

"I'm not stressed!" he snapped, and Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Obviously" she said sarcastically, beckoning to him, "C'mere, sit down".

Hesitantly, the Doctor walked over and sat down on the steps just below Charlotte, who then proceeded to reach down and rub his shoulders for him. "Ooh, oh, that's nice" he sighed as her fingers massaged the base of his neck, "Didn't know I needed that".

"You're welcome; I like to be useful" she replied, before adding, "You know you're probably thinking too much about this. Just relax for a bit and let's pick Clara up".

The Doctor clapped his hands together and bounded to his feet, moving around the console with his usual manic energy. They materialised outside the Maitland home; he hurried out and pressed the doorbell. This time Clara answered much quicker, grinning excitedly. The Doctor grinned back, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the TARDIS.

After greeting Laura and then Charlotte with hugs, Clara inquired curiously, "So we're moving through actual time? So what's it made of, time?" she asked the Doctor, "I mean, if you can just rotor through it, it's got to be made of stuff, like jam's made of strawberries. So what's it made of?"

"Well, not strawberries. No. No, no, no. That would be unacceptable" he asserted, straightening his bowtie.

"It's probably made of wibbley wobbley timey wimey stuff" Laura suggested; she and Charlotte snickered a bit, as if sharing a private joke…which they were, in a sense. Clara laughed a bit as well, more at how ridiculous it sounded, and asked "And we can go anywhere?"

"Within reason" the Doctor nodded, before amending "Well, I say reason".

"So we could go backwards in time".

"And space, yes".

"And forwards in time".

"And space, totally. So, where do you want to go, eh? What do you want to see?" the Doctor asked Clara, grinning enthusiastically. She beamed, and opened her mouth to say something…but then her mind went blank. "I don't know" she realised, "You know when someone asks you what's your favourite book and straight away you forget every single book that you've ever read?"

"No, totally not" the Doctor admitted.

"Well, that's a thing that…happens".

"And?" he prompted, "Back to the question?"

"Okay…so, so, so…so, I'd like to see…I would like to see…what I would like to see is…" Clara had turned her back to them; she spun around and smiled, "Something awesome". The Doctor immediately jumped into action, setting the TARDIS into flight and dematerialising them. Then he materialised them somewhere else, and when his three companions followed him to the door, he told them to close their eyes and hold hands.

They did as he asked, and he guided them out of the TARDIS. "Can you feel the light on your eyelids?" he asked them; they nodded or 'mm-hmm'-ed in affirmative. "That is the light of an alien sun. Forward a couple of steps…okay. Are you ready?"

"Yeah" said Laura.

"Yep" said Charlotte.

"Yes" said Clara, then "No. Yes?"

"Oh…" she heard Laura gasp beside her, and opened her eyes. It was an amazing sight, a huge reddish orb hanging in the sky, surrounded by asteroids, one of which was covered in buildings. All three of them stared at it in wonder; Charlotte had worried that knowing what was coming on this adventure would take some of the magic away, but…seeing it on a screen didn't do it justice. It was incredible.

"Welcome to the Rings of Akhaten, ladies" the Doctor said from behind them, smiling at the amazement clear on their faces. It never got old, this, showing someone a new world for the first time.

"It's…" Clara trailed off, unable to put it into words.

"It is" the Doctor agreed with a smile, "It so completely is, but wait, there is more".

"More what?"

"Wait, wait, wait", the Doctor checked his wrist watch and counted down, nudging them forward a few steps, "In about five, four, three, two" – some of the great rocks shifted, revealing a beautiful golden pyramid on another asteroid, shining in the sunlight.

"What is it?" Clara breathed in wonder.

"The Pyramid of the Rings of Akhaten" the Doctor replied, "It's a holy site for the Sun Singers of Akhat".

"The who of what?"

"Seven worlds orbiting the same star; all of them sharing a belief that life in the universe originated here, on that planet" the Doctor revealed, pointing to the largest asteroid with the city built into it.

"All life?"

"In the universe" the Doctor nodded.

"Did it?"

"Well…it's what they believe. It's a nice story".

"It's beautiful" Laura sighed, gazing at the pyramid and the city and the sun. Of course she knew the sun was actually a parasite, but right now, she didn't care. Charlotte nodded gently in agreement, unable to keep the smile off her face. "Yeah, as far as being awesome goes, this is definitely awesome" she murmured.

Clara couldn't agree more; without taking her eyes off the glowing pyramid she hopefully asked, "Can we see it? Up close?"

The Doctor smiled, and offered her his hand, chuckling fondly at the excitement in her eyes. The four of them hurried back into the TARDIS, which then dematerialised and re-materialised on Akhaten itself. The Doctor pulled Clara out first, the two Whovians hot on their tail; they emerged into a bustling marketplace, with a multitude of aliens going about their business and not paying the four any mind.

Laura winced slightly, bad memories coming to the forefront. Charlotte noticed her expression and put an arm around her, murmuring "Cheer up, I won't let them sell you anything dangerous".

"I'm not buying anything" replied Laura, she'd learned from her mistake last time. Part of Charlotte wanted to chew the Doctor out for bringing them somewhere that Laura would be reminded of a less than pleasant experience, but this adventure had to happen. Besides, she would make sure Laura wasn't left alone to be tempted or to get lost; as her best friend, it was up to Charlotte to be loyal and look after her.

"I can't pay for that" the three women overheard the Doctor say to an alien trying to sell him something. Clara, who had been staring around her in awe, asked curiously, "Where are they from?"

"Oh, you know, the local system, mostly" the Doctor told her casually.

"And what should we call them?"

"Well, let's see…Ah! There go some Pan-Babylonians" he said, pointing to a couple of grey-blue aliens with bulbous skin and elfin ears, "A Lugal-Irra-Kush", he pointed at an alien with a hooked, parrot like beak, "Some Lucanians", he pointed at aliens with green, bald swollen heads and high collared black robes, "A Hooloovoo", he pointed out an alien walking past with a strange helmet of some sort on its head, "Ah! Qom VoTivig" he greeted one hooded, slightly owl or frog like alien. The two performed some ritualistic greeting, and the alien moved on.

"That chap's a Terraberserker of the Kodion Belt. You don't see many of them around anymore" the Doctor told his companions, before exclaiming, "Oh! That's an Ultramancer!" he ran up to an alien in armour with glowing red eyes and tubes coming out of its helmet. "Do you know, I forget how much I like it here. We should come here more often" he remarked to the girls.

"You've been here before?" Clara asked, though she wasn't entirely surprised; after all, he must have been here at some point if he knew so much about the place.

"Yes, yes, yes. I came here a long time ago with my granddaughter" he replied all too nonchalantly, before darting off through the crowd. The smile fell off Clara's face to be replaced by shock. "Hang on!" she cried, all three women hurrying after him. When they caught up, he was holding a basket with four lightly glowing blue spheres inside.

"Exotic fruit of some description" he explained, scanning the orbs, "Right. Non-toxic, non-hallucinogenic…High in free radicals and low in other stuff, I shouldn't wonder" he remarked. Each of his companions reached out and took one, biting into it. Clara chewed it and shook her head, grimacing a bit. "No?" he guessed from her expression that it didn't agree with human taste buds.

"It tastes sort of…sour" said Laura, smacking her lips and returning her unfinished fruit to the basket. Charlotte followed suit, saying "It tastes a bit like…drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth…so yeah, kinda gross".

"So, why is everyone here?" asked Clara; the Doctor set the basket down and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Ah, for the Festival of Offerings" he explained, leading them off through the market, "Takes place every thousand years or so, when the rings align. It's quite a big thing, locally, like err…err…Pancake Tuesday".

The Doctor headed off round a corner; Clara turned around to see if Laura and Charlotte were still there, and came face to face with a snarling alien who had rather sharp canines poking out of its mouth. It barked loudly at her like a dog, and she stumbled back fearfully. Then Charlotte stepped between them and made some yapping noises at the alien. It growled and barked at them again; Charlotte squeaked in fright and jumped back, bumping into Clara. "Sorry, sorry!"

"Doctor, come quick!" Laura called. The Time Lord ran back and yapped at the alien like a terrier, who didn't bark at him.

"What's happening, why's it angry?" asked Clara. The Doctor looked between her and the alien and protested, "This isn't an it, it's a she. Dor'een, meet Clara, Laura and Charlotte. Clara, Laura, and Charlotte, meet Dor'een" he introduced them all.

"Doreen?" Clara laughed a bit, bemused that an alien would have such a normal sounding name as 'Doreen'.

"Loose translation" the Doctor waved a hand dismissively; Charlotte wasn't sure if he meant the name or the TARDIS circuits. "She sounds a bit grumpy but she's a total love actually, aren't you?" he beamed at Dor'een, tickling her under the chin, "Yes you are! No, actually, she's just asking if we fancy renting a couple of mopeds" he explained. Dor'een barked something and the Doctor frowned. "She also says…that you called her fat?" he asked Charlotte.

Charlotte winced and gave a nervous laugh. "Ah heh, oops; sorry" she apologised to Dor'een, "I didn't actually know what I was saying". Dor'een barked again, and the Doctor translated, "She says it's fine, she could tell you weren't a native speaker by your accent".

"There are two of them?" asked Laura; in the episode there had only been one. The Doctor nodded as Dor'een moved to let them get a better view the two sleek, futuristic vehicles. "Yes, they're in tandem. Whatever one moped does, the other copies; very good for taking kids out, or for couples" he explained with a cheerful smile.

"Couples?" Clara smirked mischievously, "Is this supposed to be a date?"

"Wha- no! Oi, you…shut up!" the Doctor rambled, clearly flustered, and his three companions couldn't help but giggle. "Aww, but you're so adorable when you're embarrassed" Charlotte grinned playfully.

The Doctor gave her an indignant stare. "Adorable?" he repeated in disbelief. Charlotte just chuckled and gave him a brief hug. He realised that she'd probably meant it as a compliment…of sorts…and couldn't find it in himself to be cross at her.

"So, how much do they both cost?" Clara inquired, nodding at the two mopeds.

"Err, not money" the Doctor informed her, "Something valuable. Sentimental value, a photograph, love letter, something like that. That's what's used for currency here, psychometry. Objects psychically imprinted with their history. The more treasured they are, the more value they hold" he explained.

"That's horrible" Clara frowned; Charlotte and Laura both nodded in agreement.

"Well, it's better than using bits of paper".

Clara shrugged and suggested, "Then you pay".

"With what?"

"You're a thousand years old. You must have something you care about" Clara reasoned. She looked around, laughing in delight, only to turn and find the Doctor had walked off. "Where'd he go?" she asked Laura and Charlotte.

"I think he went that way" Laura explained, pointing back the way they had come. They went to catch up with the Time Lord, but he'd already disappeared from view. "Man, he moves fast" Charlotte muttered, annoyed but also slightly impressed. Clara called out for the Doctor, but there was no response. Then a young girl in red robes, who seemed human except for the raised markings on her cheeks and forehead, ran around the corner and came to a halt in front of Clara. Of course the two Whovians recognised her immediately; it was Merry.

She looked afraid, and Clara was immediately concerned for her. "Are you okay?" she asked gently; Merry just ducked past the three of them and ran away. Moments later, two men in the same scarlet clothing appeared. One asked them, "Have you seen her?"

"Um, seen who?" asked Laura.

"The Queen of Years" the man replied.

"Who?" asked Clara, bewildered. The two men nodded to each other and split up to search for the Queen…which Clara then realised might have been the little girl. She looked at her friends to see if they'd come with her; they both nodded, as if they'd guessed what she was thinking, and the three of them went to find the child, whom Clara was sure needed help.

They ended up in a storehouse of some kind, filled with crates and strange alien artefacts. "Hello?" Clara called out; she was sure she'd spotted the little girl sneak in here, but there was no sign of her now.

A sudden bang made them all jump. "It's okay, I think it was just a door slamming" Charlotte said reassuringly. The three of them continued to walk through the deserted building; the sound of pattering feet reached their ears, and they turned to see Merry emerging from behind a wire crate. She stared at them all in alarm, and they smiled gently as they could, to try and put her at ease. "Hey, are you okay? Are you lost?" asked Clara.

She didn't reply, but simply ran away again. Clara, Laura and Charlotte hurried after her; it didn't take long for them to find her again, as she tried to sneak away from them but knocked into something by mistake. The noise made Clara spin around and gasp, made the child scream…then they both chuckled a bit, realising they'd been spooked by a pot.

"Are you alright?" Clara asked the girl softly…rather than run away again, she seemed to decide to trust them and nodded.

"How come you ran away?" Charlotte inquired, tilting her head a bit as if in curiosity. She did already know why Merry was trying to hide, but she was doing her best to act as if she didn't.

"I was hiding".

"Hiding from what?" asked Laura; she and Charlotte had both agreed to act as if they didn't know what was coming. It was difficult at times, but they'd managed to not slip up yet. They were just taking things one bit at a time.

Merry's brow creased slightly in disbelief. "You don't know me?"

"Sorry" Clara apologised, taking a few steps towards her, "Actually not".

"So why did you follow me?"

"To help, you looked lost".

Merry looked nervous. "I don't believe you…"

Clara looked over her shoulder at her friends and then back to Merry. "We've got no idea who you might be" she reassured the girl, "We've never been here before. We've never been anywhere like here before. We just saw a little girl who looked like she needed help" she explained.

"Really?" asked Merry, nervous and hopeful at the same time. Clara smiled and nodded, "Really, really".

"Can you help me?"

"We'll do our best" Laura promised.

"Because I need to hide" Merry explained fearfully, looking over her shoulder. They heard a whooshing noise, and then a sinister voice whispering " _Merry. Where are you, Merry?_ "

"Well you're in luck; we know the perfect box" Clara smiled, holding a hand out to Merry. The little girl hesitated, so Charlotte stepped forward and beckoned to her. "It's okay, you can trust us. But we've got to go" she urged.

" _Merry, where are you? Merry…Merry…"_

The creepy whisper made Merry's mind up; she hurried forward and took Clara's hand. The three of them hurried out of the storeroom, trying to keep out of sight of the three robotic like figures walking through the storeroom in search of the little girl. Once they got out, they sneaked into the bazaar, hiding Merry behind them when aliens walked past. At last they made it back to the TARDIS, tucked away in a gated storage space.

"What's this?" asked Merry, staring at the large blue box.

"A space-shippy thing. Timey, spacey" Clara explained vaguely, checking to make sure they hadn't been followed. Charlotte smiled in amusement at her description and elucidated, "It's a spaceship and time machine, she means".

"It's teeny" Merry pointed out, the fact that it was a time machine not making her bat an eye. Clara smiled and gripped the door handles. "You wait" she told Merry, before pushing…and tugging…all to no avail. "Oh, _come on_ " she groaned.

"What's wrong?"

Clara stepped away from the TARDIS. "I don't know" she replied, looking the box up and down. For some reason she got the feeling it was looking back at her. "I don't think it likes me" she declared.

"She's definitely not going to like you if you call her an 'it'" Charlotte remarked, reaching out to try the doors herself. They didn't budge for her either. "See? It's not just you" she pointed out to Clara.

"So why can't we get in?"

"Well, uh, the Doctor told us we weren't supposed to take strangers on board the TARDIS without his permission" Laura explained. Clara frowned in consternation. "Seriously? Not even…hey, where'd she go?" she asked, looking around for Merry.

"I think she went behind the TARDIS" said Laura. They found the little girl sitting on the ground behind the blue box; Clara sat down next to her and the two Whovians sat opposite them. Clara gave her a warm smile and murmured, "So err, we never got your name…"

"My name's Merry".

Laura smiled and remarked, "That's a lovely name. I'm Laura, and these are my friends Clara and Charlotte" she introduced.

"Hello…" Merry said shyly.

"So, what's happening?" asked Clara, "Is someone trying to hurt you?"

"No" Merry shook her head slightly. "I'm just scared" she admitted.

"Of what?"

"Getting it wrong" Merry replied simply.

"Okay, can you pretend like us three are space aliens and explain?"

"I'm Merry Gejelh" she revealed as if it were a big secret…which it was, to Clara at least. "Really not local, sorry" Clara admitted apologetically.

"The Queen of Years? They chose me when I was a baby, the day the last Queen of Years died" Merry explained.

"Okay".

"I'm the vessel of our history" said Merry, "I know every chronicle, every poem, every legend, every song".

"Every single one?" Clara asked in surprise; that seemed like a lot to learn for a young girl. "Blimey, I hated history" she half-joked. Laura smiled in reminiscence and commented, "I really enjoyed it…sorry, go on Merry".

"I have to sing a song in front of everyone. A special song. I have to sing it to a god. And I'm really scared" Merry explained in a small voice. She looked so small and innocent that Laura's heart went out to her. "It's alright, Merry. There's nothing wrong with being scared" she told the little girl comfortingly.

"Of course not" Clara agreed, "And besides, everyone's scared when they're little. I used to be terrified of getting lost. Used to have nightmares about it" she recalled, "And then… I got lost. Blackpool beach, Bank holiday Monday, about ten billion people. I was about six. My worst nightmare come true".

"What happened?"

"My world ended, my heart broke…" Clara smiled, "And then my mum found me. We had fish and chips, and she drove me home and she tucked me up and she told me a story". Clara could remember it as if it were yesterday…and she always remembered her mother's words. " _It doesn't matter where you are, in the jungle or the desert or on the moon. However lost you may feel, you'll never really be lost. Not really. Because I will always be here, and I will always come and find you. Every single time. Every single time"_.

 _If only you'd been able to keep your promise, mum…_

"And you were never scared again?" asked Merry, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, I was scared lots of times, but never of being lost" she replied, before asking "So, this special song. What are you scared of, exactly?"

"Getting it wrong" Merry answered, "Making Grandfather angry".

"And do you think you'll get it wrong? Because I don't" Clara reassured her, "I don't think you'll get it wrong. I think you, Merry Gejelh, will get it very, very right" she said confidently.

"You've just got to do your best" Laura added encouragingly.

"And if for some reason things don't go quite as planned, it won't be your fault" Charlotte added with certainty, "And if anyone tries to blame you they're gonna have to go through us. Especially Clara, she's scary when she's mad" Charlotte joked with a grin.

Clara shot her a mock indignant glare. "Hey!"

Merry giggled, and then reached across to hug Clara. She hugged Laura and Charlotte as well. They went back to the bazaar, where the two robed men were speaking to vendors; Clara gave Merry an encouraging nudge and she walked up to the men, who had spotted her approaching. She lowered her hood and one of them put a lei around her neck, before leading her away.

After Merry and the two choristers had disappeared around the corner, the Doctor decided to reappear, eating one of the glowing blue fruits. "What have you been doing?" he asked them casually.

"Exploring" Clara replied for all of them. The Doctor smiled, shrugged and walked off again; prompting Clara to spread her arms in a 'now what?' gesture. "Where are we going now?" she asked, as they hurried after him.

"The amphitheatre!" he replied, "It's right on the edge of the planet, there's going to be a special performance there in about...five minutes" he realised after checking his watch.

Clara realised that this must be the performance Merry was talking about; they definitely had to be there to support her. "Well, what are we waiting for then?" she inquired cheerfully. The Doctor grinned and grabbed her hand, breaking into a run.

/

They hurried into the amphitheatre a few moments before it was due to start. Charlotte had worried there wouldn't be anywhere for her and Laura to sit, but by a lucky coincidence there were four spaces. With quite a few muttered apologies to the other aliens, the four of them sat in a row; the Doctor right by the wall, then Clara on his right, followed by Charlotte and Laura.

"Are we even supposed to be here?" Clara asked the Doctor in a near whisper.

"Shh!"

"But are we?"

" _Shh_!"

Merry was standing on a small golden pedestal at the very edge of the semi-circular arena. She looked back over her shoulder to see Clara, Charlotte and Laura sitting in the stands. They smiled encouragingly at her; Clara gave a small nod, and Merry nodded back, before turning to face the shining pyramid and the sun. She began to sing. "Akhaten…"

Another voice, an older male voice, joined in, projected from the pyramid itself. "Lay down, my king. Sleep now eternal. Sleep, my precious king. Lay down…"

"O God of Akhaten…"

The Doctor had put on Amy's reading glasses again and was reading a leaflet of some sort. "They're singing to the Mummy in the Temple" he explained, "They call it the Old God, sometimes Grandfather".

"O God of Akhaten…"

"She's really good" Laura muttered to Charlotte, who nodded in agreement.

"What are they singing?" Clara asked curiously.

"The Long Song" the Doctor replied, "A lullaby without end to feed the Old God. Keep him asleep. It's been going for millions of years, chorister handing over to chorister, generation after generation after generation" he explained. All around them, the audience were raising objects in their hands towards the sun and the pyramid.

"What are they doing?"

"Those are offerings. Gifts of value, mementoes to feed the Old God" the Doctor explained. Clara, Charlotte and Laura watched in wonder as the objects dissolved into gold particles, floating up towards the sun as Merry and the chorister sang a duet.

"O God of, O God of, O God of Akhaten…"

"Sleep, my precious king…"

Everyone around them began to sing in chorus; even the Doctor. "Lay – lay down…"

"Rest now, my warrior" the chorister seemed to sing; it was hard to make out; but he faltered at the end, when a rumbling sounded. Both the chorister and Merry stopped singing, the little girl looking just as confused as the crowd, who were murmuring amongst themselves.

They could hear the chorister singing, praying…"Old God protect us…Old God protect us…"

Suddenly, Merry cried out as a golden energy beam grabbed her and began pulling her towards the pyramid. "Okay, what's happening? Is that supposed to happen?" asked Clara; for all she knew it was part of the tradition, but judging by the fear on Merry's face, it wasn't.

"Help!" the poor, terrified girl cried out. Charlotte was already on her feet, scrambling out of the stands, not bothering to apologise to anyone for practically clambering over them. The other three hurried to follow her. "Is somebody going to do something?" Clara demanded, looking at the congregation who were just sitting there, "Excuse me, is somebody going to help her?"

Nobody answered, at least not in a language she understood, so Clara hurried off after the Doctor, Laura and Charlotte. The Doctor was striding towards where the TARDIS was hidden and she mistakenly thought he was trying to leave. "Why are we walking away?" she demanded, "We can't just walk away. This is my fault! I talked her into doing this" she said guiltily.

"So did Laura and I" Charlotte reminded her, "And how were you planning on getting to Merry?" she asked pointedly.

"Listen" the Doctor instructed firmly, "There's one thing you need to know about travelling with me. Well, one thing apart from the blue box and the two hearts. We don't walk away" he declared, before turning and striding onwards. He headed straight for Dor'een's stall and barked at her; she barked in return, and he patted his pockets, before turning to his companions. "I need something precious" he told them.

"Well, you must have something. All the places you've seen, there must be something" Clara reasoned.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "This. And I don't want to give it away, because it comes in handy".

"You're a thousand years old and that's it? Your spanner?" Clara asked incredulously.

"Screwdriver" he corrected.

Charlotte was tempted to point out that he _did_ have something precious, Amy's spectacles, but she didn't – and it had nothing to do with preserving the timelines. She just knew she'd feel guilty if she made him give up something that reminded him of a loved one…and the same went for Clara, she decided. "I've got something" she said quickly, taking off the amethyst necklace she'd been wearing when she arrived in the Whoniverse. It reminded her of both her parents, and then the rest of her family and her home…she held it out to Dor'een, who took it, and then shook her head and growled.

"It's not enough" the Doctor translated, dismayed, "It's not enough to pay for both mopeds".

Clara looked down and slipped a ring off her finger. "It's my mum's" she explained quietly, handing it to Dor'een. This time the alien nodded and barked approvingly; the ring and the necklace together were enough to pay for both mopeds. The Doctor and Clara jumped onto the main one, Charlotte and Laura climbed aboard the secondary one, and off they raced to save Merry Gejelh.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Rings of Akhaten Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

The Rings of Akhaten – Part Two

Laura thought she might have left some of her organs behind on Akhaten as they raced through space towards the pyramid and – "Merry!" cried Clara, stretching her arm out as far as she could. Charlotte did the same, leaning forward as far as she dared. The little girl reached for them as well, but just as their fingers grasped at hers, she was yanked away screaming and dragged into the temple.

"Brakes, brakes!" yelled Clara; the Doctor hit the brakes on his vehicle, which made the ones on Charlotte and Laura's moped deploy automatically. They skidded to a halt, with a lot of shrieking, on the platform outside of the temple. Clara had her arms wrapped tightly around the Doctor's chest and he winced, "Okay, time to let go".

"Yeah, Laura, get off" added Charlotte, prising her friend's arms away from her waist. They climbed carefully off their moped, relieved to find there was space for them to get off on one side, because there wasn't much on the other.

"I can't" Clara whimpered, still clinging to the Doctor, without opening her eyes.

"Clara, you have to".

"Why?"

"Because it really hurts!" the Doctor told her, and she quickly let go, apologising. They climbed off of the mopeds and the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, scanning the heavy stone door that separated them from Merry. "Oh, that's interesting. A frequency modulated acoustic lock. The key changes ten million zillion squillion times a second" he informed them.

"Can you open it?" asked Clara.

"Technically, no. In reality, also no, but still, let's give it a stab" he replied, before making a run at the door. His companions looked away and winced as he ineffectually banged into the stone and bounced off; luckily he hadn't seemed to bruise much more than his dignity. Frustrated, he hit the door with the palm of his hand – Charlotte grabbed his hand and protested, "Would you stop that! Look, just…just use your sonic to…calculate the frequency or something".

"It's not that simple, Charlotte, I can't just...unless, I use the sonic to lock onto the acoustic tumblers!" he declared, proceeding to do just that. Charlotte cleared her throat pointedly. For a moment he looked at her blankly and then exclaimed, "Oh! Good idea, Charlotte".

"Thank you".

"How can they just stand there and watch?" Clara demanded indignantly, feeling almost disgusted at the lack of action.

"Yeah, I can't believe none of them did anything. That's just…that's just selfish!" Laura agreed vehemently.

"This place is sacred to them" the Doctor explained, still trying to open the door.

"But she's just a child!" Clara protested.

"And he's a god. Well, he is to them, anyway".

"And because of that they refuse to help a little girl who is obviously scared out of her wits" Charlotte added bitterly, "It's things like this that make me glad I'm an atheist…no offence" she added quickly for Laura's benefit. The last thing she intended to do was insult her best friend.

"None taken" her friend waved it off, just before they heard Merry scream from inside the pyramid.

"Merry!" Clara cried, "Merry, hold on, we'll be there soon! Doctor" she turned to him urgently, hoping he had an idea, a plan, something. He was pointing the flashing sonic screwdriver at the door, scanning it…"Yes, yes, yes, yes. Oh, hello" he said triumphantly, checking the readings.

"'Hello' what?"

"The sonic's locked on to the acoustic tumblers, just like Charlotte said".

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, I get to do this!" he grinned, pointing the sonic at the bottom of the door. Clara gasped as the door began to rise, the Doctor almost literally pushing it up with the sonic; he got it all the way up and they could see Merry standing before a glass case with the mummy inside, and a chorister kneeling on the floor.

"Ah, hello there, I'm the Doctor" he greeted, "and you've met my friends, they were supposed to be having a nice day out. Still" – he tried to turn off the sonic but the door started sliding down again, so he flicked it back on quickly, "it's early yet. Are you coming then?" he asked. Merry shook her head. "Did I mention that the door is immensely heavy?"

"Leave!" Merry pleaded, "You'll wake him!"

Really quite extraordinarily heavy" he added, getting pushed to one knee by the force of the door bearing down on them. He glanced at his companions and complained, "Little help?!"

They quickly moved inside the pyramid and towards Merry, ignoring the chorister who was singing under his breath. "Merry, we need to leave" Clara said urgently, beckoning to her.

"No, go away!"

"We're not leaving without you" Laura insisted.

"You said I wouldn't get it wrong and then I got it wrong. And now this has happened. Look what happened!"

"And _I_ said if things went wrong it wouldn't be your fault" Charlotte pointed out, "So blame me, okay? Now come on!" she prompted, taking a few steps towards Merry. The little girl backed away from her and cried "No! You don't know anything. You have to go! Go now, or he'll eat us all" she stated, looking over her shoulder at the mummy. Clara moved to peer at it through the glass, remarking "Well, he's ugly. But you know, to be honest, I don't think he looks big enough".

"Not our meat, our _souls_ ".

"Which is exactly why we should all get out of here" Charlotte said exasperatedly, holding her hand out to Merry. The girl quickly touched her temples and sent out a burst of purple telekinetic energy, which sent Charlotte flying backwards and pinned Clara against the glass case.

"He doesn't want you, he wants me" Merry explained as Laura helped Charlotte to her feet, "If you don't leave, he'll eat you all up too".

"Yes, and you don't want that, do you?" the Doctor called to Merry, "You want us to walk out of this really quite astonishingly heavy door and never come back" he guessed. Charlotte and Laura knew what was coming and hurried over to him as Merry replied, " _Yes_ ".

"I see! Right. Clara's right. Absolutely never going to happen" he decided. Charlotte held a hand out to him and Laura called, "Doctor, come on!"

He let go of the sonic with one hand and reached towards the two Whovians, who grabbed his hand and pulled for all they were worth, yanking him out from under the door. All three of them ended up on the floor in a pile as the stone door thundered down behind them, sending clouds of dust flying up. The Doctor quickly scrambled to his feet, wincing in sympathy as Charlotte and Laura groaned, picking themselves up more slowly.

Clara asked, "Did you just _lock us in_?"

"Yep" the Doctor replied bluntly.

"With the soul eating monster" she added.

"Yep" he nodded, straightening his jacket and walking up to

"And is there actually a way to get out?"

"What, before it eats our souls?"

"Ideally, yes".

"Possibly…probably… There usually seems to be".

"Well, I'm safe, I don't have a soul" Charlotte remarked jokingly. The others gave her odd looks and she admitted, "Yeah, sorry, bad timing".

Clara eyed the chorister in concern. "Doctor, why is he still singing?"

The Doctor knelt down in front of the man and explained, "He's trying to sing the Old God back to sleep, but that's not going to happen. He's waking up, mate. He's coming, ready or not. You want to run" he advised. The chorister choked off his next line and stared at the Doctor fearfully. "That's it, then. Song's over" the Time Lord said quietly.

"The song is over" the chorister agreed, getting to his feet. "My name is Chorister Rezh Baphix, and the Long Song ended with me" he announced, before pressing a button on a bracelet he was wearing and teleporting out. _Well, that was helpful_ Charlotte thought sarcastically.

The Doctor apparently had similar sentiments. " _That's_ it then, song's over" he repeated, pulling out his sonic and flashing it at the glass case. The mummy suddenly roared; Charlotte and Laura had actually forgotten when it woke up and they jumped in fright. "Ah ha! Look at that!" the Doctor said excitedly, looking through the glass at the mummy now banging on the walls of its prison.

"You've woken him!" Merry cried in alarm. Clara, who looked less than pleased to be trapped against the case that held the angry mummy, asked "It's awake? What's it doing?"

"What do you think it's doing?" Charlotte asked incredulously; the creature was roaring and hitting the glass, how could Clara not have noticed that? Clara glared at her a bit and replied, "Well, I was hoping it was just…just…"

"Having a nice stretch?" the Doctor suggested, before turning to Merry and explaining, "No, we didn't wake him. And you didn't wake him, either. He's waking because it's his time to wake, and feed. On you, apparently" he pointed at Merry, "on your stories".

"She didn't say 'stories', she said 'souls'" Clara insisted, as if it made a difference.

"Same thing" the Doctor replied, "The soul's made of stories, not atoms. Everything that ever happened to us; people we love, people we lost. People we found again against all the odds" –he jerked a thumb at the furious mummy and explained, "He threatens to wake, they offer him a pure soul. The soul of the Queen of Years"

"Doctor, you're scaring her" Laura admonished him as Merry fearfully backed away a few steps.

"Good. She should be scared. She's sacrificing herself. She should know what that means" the Doctor asserted, walking towards Merry. "Do you know what it means, Merry?" he asked her.

"A god chose me".

"It's not a god. It'll feed on your soul, but that doesn't make it a god. It is a vampire, and you don't need to give yourself to it" the Doctor told Merry. She still looked doubtful, so he continued, "Hey, do you mind if I tell you a story? One you might not have heard. All the elements in your body were forged many, many millions of years ago, in the heart of a far-away star that exploded and died. That explosion scattered those elements across the desolations of deep space.

"After so, so many millions of years, these elements came together to form new stars and new planets. And on and on it went. The elements came together and burst apart, forming shoes and ships and sealing wax, and cabbages and kings. Until eventually, they came together to make you. You are unique in the universe. There is only one Merry Gejelh. And there will never be another" he told Merry, and the others smiled, agreeing wholeheartedly. "Getting rid of that existence isn't a sacrifice. It is a _waste_ " he accused the raging creature in the case.

"So…if I don't, then everyone else…" Merry said hesitantly.

"Will be fine" he reassured her.

"How?"

"There's always a way".

"You promise?"

"Cross my hearts" he smiled, after doing just that. Merry held his hand trustingly and turned to Clara, releasing her from the telekinetic hold. Clara gasped as the mummy managed to crack the glass and hurried down the steps. "Having a nice stretch?" she asked sarcastically. The five of them ran for the door, but before the Doctor could lock onto the tumblers again and open it, the whole asteroid rumbled. "Something's coming" Clara realised, "What's coming?"

"The Vigil" Merry replied fearfully, as she stood behind the four adults, all of whom were ready to protect her.

"And what's the Vigil?" the Doctor asked her.

"If the Queen of Years is unwilling to be feasted upon…"

"Yes?"

"It's their job to feed her to Grandfather".

 _That's horrible_ thought Laura _. Don't worry, Merry, nobody's going to get you whilst we're here._

Three cyborg like creatures teleported into the chamber in a burst of black, wheezing metallically; they strode forward, and Merry cried "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Don't you _dare_ " Clara glared at them, taking Merry's hand. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the Vigil, threatening, "Yeah, stay back. I'm armed – with a screwdriver".

The lead Vigil sent out a blast of sound that sent the sonic screwdriver flying out of the Doctor's hands – a moment later Charlotte yelled "Down!" – She dragged the Doctor into a crouch and Laura pulled Clara down as the Vigil let out another blast. Then the cyborgs changed tactics, all three of them sending out a massive blast of sound. The Doctor, Clara, Merry, Charlotte and Laura all pressed their hands to their ears and resisted as much as they could, but the adults were quickly overwhelmed and sent sprawling, leaving poor Merry to cower in terror.

Helplessly, she let the Vigil shepherd her towards the Mummy. Charlotte groaned and opened her eyes, her ears ringing. _I swear, if I get knocked down one more time…_ she crawled over to grab the sonic and pressed it into the Doctor's hand as he stirred. "Help her" she gasped out, rubbing her skull, feeling a terrible headache forming. The Vigil spun around and attempted to blast them again, but the Doctor used the sonic to create a force-field. Merry ran back to Clara, who hugged her and then said urgently, "You know all the stories. You must know if there's another way out".

"Th-there's a tale, a secret song" Merry answered, "The Thief of the Temple and the Nimmer's Door".

"And the secret songs opens the secret door?" Clara guessed, and Merry nodded. "How does it go? Can you sing it?"

Merry sang a short tune, and a door slid open just beyond the Vigil and the Mummy. "Go!" the Doctor called, still struggling to hold off the Vigil. Merry and his companions ran for it, coming around the temple to the front of it again. Clara ran back to see if the Doctor was coming and saw the force-field around the Vigil fade away. "Doctor!" she called, urging him to get out of there.

He joined them a moment later, just as the Vigil teleported out to them, and prepared to fight them back once more. Inside the pyramid, the mummy smashed its case and roared; a beam of light shot out from the tip of the pyramid and struck the sun, causing it to glow brighter. A creepy whisper murmured, " _Where are you? Where are you?_ "

The Vigil stopped attacking and simply teleported away. "Where did they go?" asked Clara.

"Grandfather's awake. They're of no function anymore" the Doctor explained. Clara couldn't help but note his less than enthused tone. "Well, you could sound happier about it" she remarked.

The Doctor turned to look at them with a rather worried expression. "Actually, I think I may have made a bit of a tactical boo-boo" he admitted, "More of a semantics mix-up, really".

"What boo-boo?" Clara asked worriedly, as the asteroid rumbled again.

"I thought the Old God was Grandfather, but it wasn't. It was just Grandfather's alarm clock".

"Sorry, a bit lost. Who's the Old God? Is there an Old God?"

"Unfortunately, yes" the Doctor winced…and they all looked up at the sun, which was glowing and swirling and looking, for lack of a better word, _angry._

"Oh, my stars…" Clara breathed; she turned to the Doctor and demanded, "What do we do?"

"Against that?" he asked incredulously, "I don't know! Do you know? I don't know; any ideas?"

"But you promised" Merry protested, "You promised!"

"I did, I did promise" the Doctor agreed, starting to pace back and forth, trying to come up with a plan.

"He'll eat us all" Merry declared, reciting a prophecy, "He'll spread across the system, consuming the Seven Worlds. And when there's no more to eat, he'll embark on a new odyssey among the stars". Above them the surface of the sun continued to boil and rage.

"I say leg it" Clara suggested suddenly, for lack of any better ideas.

The Doctor asked sceptically, "Leg it _where_ , exactly?"

"Don't know, Lake District?"

"Oh, the Lake District's lovely. Let's definitely go there. We can eat scones. They do great scones in 1927" the Doctor rambled. Both he and Clara looked up at the sun again, and the latter stated, "You're going to fight it, aren't you".

"Regrettably, yes. I think I may be about to do that".

"It's really big".

"I've seen bigger".

"Really?"

"Are you joking? It's massive!"

"I'm staying with you" Clara decided firmly. Laura nodded in agreement and declared, "Yeah, me too".

"Well, if you're staying, I'm staying" Charlotte added, though she knew none of them would be staying with the Doctor. He wouldn't let them. Sure enough, the Doctor insisted point blank, "No, you're not, not any of you".

"Yes, we are" Clara replied stubbornly, "We can assist!"

"No, you can't".

"What about that stuff you said" she challenged, "We don't walk away".

The Doctor turned to her and replied, "No, we don't walk away. But when we are we're holding on to something precious", he glanced at Merry, "we run. We run and run as fast as we can and we don't stop running until we are out from under the shadow. Now, off you pop. Take the moped, I'll walk". He gave them a small smile and straightened his bowtie.

"Doctor?" Charlotte called, and he paused. "Good luck" she said; he smiled and nodded, before leaving to face the wrath of the sun. Charlotte sighed and looked at the others. "Come on, we should do as he says". They climbed onto the mopeds, Clara and Merry on the lead one. Fortunately Clara had seen how the Doctor started his, so she knew what she was doing.

Meanwhile, the Doctor walked out to stand before the sun, on which had appeared the silhouette of eyes and a mouth, like a gigantic fiery skull. "Any ideas?" he asked himself, "No, didn't think so. Righty-ho then" he muttered, staring up at the massive sun which seemed to frown at him, "Lordy".

Clara, Merry, Laura and Charlotte arrived back at the amphitheatre and quickly climbed off of the mopeds. They ran to the front of the semi-circular arena and looked out at the raging sun, which was clearly visible from here as well. "Isn't he frightened?" Merry asked anxiously.

"I think he is" Clara answered, "I think he's very frightened".

"I want to help" the little girl said determinedly.

"So do I" Clara nodded, but she didn't know how. Merry had an idea though; she stood up on the pedestal, and began to sing another song. "Rest now, my warrior. Rest now…"

The Doctor could hear her, and he smiled. "Okay, then" he murmured, feeling much more confident about facing down a mad sun god. "That's what I'll do. I'll tell you a story".

Merry kept singing, and much to the human's delight, the crowd joined in, helping. "Please, wake up. And let the cloak of life cling to your bones..."

/

"Can you hear them?" the Doctor asked the parasite, "All these people who've lived in terror of you and your judgement? All these people, whose ancestors devoted themselves, sacrificed themselves, to you. Can you hear them singing? Oh, you like to think you're a god. But you're not a god. You're just a parasite eaten out with jealousy and envy and longing for the lives of others. You feed on them. On the memory of love and loss and birth and death and joy and sorrow…

"So, come on, then. Take mine. Take my memories. But I hope you've got a big appetite, because I have lived a long life and I have seen a few things" he challenged. Tendrils of energy swirled out and reached towards him. "I walked away from the last Great Time War. I marked the passing of the Time Lords. I saw the birth of the universe and I watched as time ran out, moment by moment, until nothing remained. No time. No space. Just me!

"I walked in universes where the laws of physics were devised by the mind of a _mad man_. I've watched universes freeze and creations burn. I've seen things you wouldn't _believe_. I have lost things you will never understand. And I know things. Secrets that must never be told! Knowledge that must never be spoken! Knowledge that will make parasite gods _blaze_! So _come on, then._ Take it! Take it all, baby! Have it! You have it all!" he shouted, tears trailing down his cheeks.

The sun rolled in on itself and he hung his head, drained. Merry's song ended, and she smiled hopefully…but the sun continued to boil and froth, and Clara realised it wasn't over yet. Unbidden, two memories came clearly to her mind.

" _And I will always come and find you. Every single time_ …"

" _We don't walk away_ …"

Decision made, she turned to Charlotte and Laura. "I need to go to him" she told them, and they nodded immediately, almost as if they'd been expecting it.

"We know" said Laura. Charlotte added, "We're coming too".

Merry wished them luck, and they got back on the mopeds and raced back to the Doctor, who had fallen to his knees, weakened by the parasite which was already gathering its strength again. Clara landed both mopeds – pretty expertly, in her own opinion; and they ran out to face the sun. Charlotte and Laura made straight for the Doctor, getting on either side of him and helping him to his feet. The exercises they had both done were paying off somewhat, as they managed to remain standing even with the not so light Time Lord leaning on them.

Clara was facing the parasitic sun, scared, but doing her best not to show it. "Still hungry?" she asked it, opening her book – 101 Places to See – and taking out one of her most treasured possessions. "Well, I brought something for you" she offered, holding up the maple leaf, "The most important leaf in human history", the leaf that had brought her parents together, the leaf that she owed her existence to, "The most important leaf in human history".

A greedy smile appeared on the parasite's burning face. "It's full of stories, full of history" Clara tempted it, "And full of a future that never got lived. Days that should have been that never were. Passed on to me…" she said sadly, before holding out the leaf. An energy tendril reached towards it and it began to dissolve into golden particles. "This leaf isn't just the past, it's a whole future that never happened. There are billions and millions of unlived days for every day we live. An infinity. All the days that never came…and these are all my mum's".

"Well, come on then!" the Doctor challenged, walking over to stand besides Clara. Charlotte stood on his left, and Laura moved to stand on Clara's right in a show of solidarity. "Eat up. Are you full? I expect so, because there's quite a difference, isn't there, between what was and what should have been. There's an awful lot of one, but there's an infinity of the other".

The leaf turned to sparkles and tears filled Clara's eyes; she glanced at Laura when the other girl clasped her hand, and smiled gratefully.

"And infinity's too much, even for your appetite" the Doctor finished, and they watched as the sun seemed to writhe in pain. The Doctor and Clara shared a sad smile, and the sun finally imploded, folding in on itself and vanishing in a burst of light. Laura beamed and pulled Clara into a hug. "Clara, that was amazing! I'm sorry about your leaf, though".

"Oh, it's okay. My mum's still here" she smiled, placing a hand on her heart. She turned to the Doctor, who smiled proudly at her. "Well done, Clara Oswald" he praised, giving her a hug.

"Yeah, epic speeches all round" Charlotte grinned, "I kind of feel left out…" her gaze turned to where the sun had once been, and her face fell. "…Uh-oh".

"What? What's uh-oh?" asked Clara.

Charlotte winced a bit and explained, "I hate to be a downer, I really do. It's great that there's no longer a parasite terrorizing Akhaten, but…their sun's gone" she said bluntly. The Doctor seemed to miss her point, however. "Thanks to Clara" he smiled, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the Time Lord. "Doctor, you're not listening. I know the sun was like, evil and everything, but it was still their _sun._ You know, the thing that gave them heat and light…I'm just not sure if this new arrangement will be for the best in the long run".

Now that it had been pointed out, Laura and Clara were starting to get worried again. "Fair point" the latter agreed, "No sun is perhaps not the best idea. Doctor?" she looked at him expectantly. In fact they were all looking at him expectantly. "What?" he demanded, "You think I know what to do?"

"Well, there must be _something_ you can do" Laura pointed out.

"Like what? Look, do you really think I can just whip up a brand new sun?"

"Well, you have to do _something_ " Charlotte insisted.

"There's nothing I _can_ do. I'd need a cloud of hydrogen and helium and a few other elements; I'd need to increase the gravity and the density; and even then it would take ages for it to reach critical mass. I don't have the ingredients for making a star just lying around" the Doctor explained with a tone of frustration. Clara fixed him with a firm stare and reminded him, "Well you'd better figure something out, because you promised Merry".

The Doctor stared at her, and ran a hand through his hair, agitated. He began pacing back and forth, muttering to himself, racking his brains to come up with a solution. His companions put their heads together as well, trying to think of suggestions as to how they could quickly and safely create a new star. Charlotte proposed, "What if we drew the smaller rocks and boulders to a central point and let them crush down and heat up until"-

"Nope" the Doctor shot it down immediately, "That would more likely form a black hole than a sun".

"Okay, but there's hydrogen and helium in space, right?" Clara reasoned, "Why can't we draw some of that together?"

"Yeah, and maybe there's a way to use the TARDIS to speed up the process, so that it doesn't take hundreds of years for the nebula to collapse into a star" Laura agreed eagerly. The Doctor shook his head and explained, "The particles will be too scattered, I'd have to draw a nearby nebula, or part of it anyway, over here; and the nearest nebula is about, err, five billion miles that-a-way" he informed them, pointing towards the west.

His words gave Laura a sudden epiphany, and she asked "Where's the nearest sun?"

"The nearest star that could be a sun and isn't a parasite, you mean?" the Doctor confirmed; when she nodded, he pointed north-east and replied "That star there, the brightest one, five million miles away".

"Well I just thought, what if you used the TARDIS to pull Akhaten to that other sun?"

Charlotte's eyes lit up. "That's brilliant!" she beamed, hugging her friend, "If he can pull Earth from the Medusa Cascade to the Milky Way, then compared to that this would be a piece of cake!"

Clara frowned in bewilderment. "Pull the Earth? What are you talking about?"

 _Oops, I forgot she was here. We really need to tell her about our origins_ Charlotte thought, before replying "Do you remember when the Daleks invaded? Back in…2008, I think?" _I don't know how much got restored when the cracks got reversed – if they did. I'm not sure what happened back then._

"Daleks?" Clara repeated, obviously confused. Apparently, the cracks still erased a lot of history; they couldn't be reversed since they were central to the return of the Time Lords, so Amy might have only helped restore the Doctor's timeline, not necessarily the events others should have remembered.

"Never mind; Doctor, what do you think, could that work?" Charlotte asked the Doctor hopefully. He sighed, solemn, and replied "It would, if we had an external energy source like the Rift, but I can't put a 'towrope' around Akhaten without one. The TARDIS can't use her own power source to propel herself _and_ tow a small planetoid along, she just wasn't designed that way".

His companion's expressions plummeted, none more so than Charlotte, who grabbed at her own head with a groan of vexation. "No, _no._ This wasn't – I was supposed to _fix_ the problem, and now we can't, and-argh!"

"Charlotte, calm down" Laura said worriedly. Charlotte glared at her a bit and stalked back to the front of the pyramid, where the mopeds were sitting. She looked out at the mass of Akhaten, visible with the lights that they must have turned on to combat the darkness, and felt like she'd betrayed them all somehow. "Come on, let's go back. The least we can do is let them know they're all going to freeze to death" she said bitterly, climbing onto the second moped.

When they returned to the amphitheatre, Merry ran over and hugged Clara, relieved to see that they were alright. "You did it" she smiled, "The Old God is gone, isn't he?"

"Yes, he's gone" the Doctor nodded; he hesitated, and then knelt down on Merry's level. "I'm sorry, though…destroying the parasite, the vampire, also meant destroying your sun. I can't…there's no way to get you a new one" he explained. More layers of guilt were pressed down atop his hearts; Clara had given up two of the few reminders she had of her mother, they had saved Akhaten and doomed it in the same instant, and worst of all, if Charlotte hadn't pointed out what they'd done, he might have just whisked them all away and not looked back.

As it was, he was hard pressed not to flee back to the TARDIS when he saw Merry's disappointed expression. It morphed into one of thoughtfulness as she tried to figure out if they could manage without a sun. The asteroid they had built their city into was not really the place to plant and grow food, so they relied almost entirely on trade. Would anybody come to Akhaten if the Festival of Offerings no longer existed?

"Will we…have to leave?" she asked the Doctor, fearful at the thought of abandoning the only home she'd ever known. He sighed and explained, "I could find another planet for you and your people…I could have taken you to another sun, but my ship needs an extra power source".

"Isn't there anything I can do?"

"I wish there were" the Doctor admitted, "But"-

He was interrupted by Laura, who suddenly exclaimed "Oh! Um, Doctor, could I talk to you a minute? I think I have an idea".

"Excuse me, Merry" the Doctor told the little girl, before getting to his feet and walking a little way away with Laura. Once she thought they were out of earshot, she took a deep breath and explained her idea. "I just had a thought, the TARDIS is telepathic, and she can sort of sing, right? Not like a person, more like the Music of the Spheres".

"I suppose you could call it that" the Doctor admitted with a small smile.

"Well, I just thought, if Merry was connected telepathically to the TARDIS, her singing could help anchor the TARDIS to Akhaten" Laura elucidated. The Doctor raised an eyebrow, and she hastened to expand on her idea. "I mean, I don't really know how all this works, the TARDIS and what it can and can't do…but this sort of thing happens a lot in Doctor Who and it always seems to work. Craig blew up the Cybermen with love, we stopped the Great Intelligence's Snowmen with grief...sometimes emotions are just as powerful as gadgets in your show".

The Doctor's scepticism was starting to fade. Laura made a good point; there were more than a few adventures he could recall where a life-or-death outcome hung on emotional states. Still, that was no guarantee her idea would be good in practice….he looked out towards the pyramid, which was hard to make out now that it was no longer glowing in the sun.

Laura assumed he was lost in thought, and waited patiently, but in fact he was letting his sense of time come to the forefront and observing possible futures. There were many, but the two that stood out the most were a future where Akhaten fell out of orbit and into ruin, and a more unclear future where they were flourishing, with a new and brighter star to light their way.

The Doctor was tired of many things; loneliness, guilt, regrets; but most of all; he was tired of being _tired,_ and old and morose. Well, he was old, but that didn't mean he had to _act_ like it…at least not all the time. This idea could work, there was a chance, and however small it was, he was going to take it. He gave Laura the most encouraging smile he could muster and told her, "I think you might be onto something".

Laura explained her idea to Charlotte, Merry and Clara. Her best friend saw the logic immediately and praised her for coming up with such a clever plan; Clara protested them using Merry as some kind of tether, but Merry herself insisted that she could manage it. They returned to the TARDIS, and Merry stared around in wonder when she saw the inside for the first time. "It's…this…this is impossible!" she beamed, turning in a circle and drinking everything in.

"Follow me" the Doctor beckoned, leading her down beneath the console. He took her hand and held up a dangling wire with a sharp point on the end. "This will connect you to the TARDIS telepathic circuit; it might sting a bit" he said apologetically. Merry winced as he stuck her with the wire, and then asked him "What do I do now?"

For a moment the Doctor was floored, having not thought this particular bit through – like with most of his plans, really – but luckily Laura stepped up. "Think of home" she advised, "and how much you want to stay here. Think of how much you need a sun to survive".

"Sing a song, Merry" said Clara. She wasn't completely on board with this, but Merry was determined so the least she could do was offer her support. "Sing a song about home" she smiled. Merry smiled back; then her eyes widened slightly and she closed them. The adults watched, slightly confused, as she seemed to mumble to herself before opening her eyes and smiling at the Doctor. "Your ship is amazing. She spoke to me. She told me…she can create a sun for me".

"She did? No, wait, more importantly; she can make a sun how?"

"I don't know; she just told me to sing, and to feel, and she would take care of the rest. She told me I wouldn't have to be on board for her to do this" Merry said simply. Curious, the Doctor closed his eyes…and then opened them again several moments later, a wide grin spreading across his face. "Oh, that is _brilliant!_ " he exclaimed, picking Merry up and swinging her around.

"What's brilliant?" Clara asked curiously. The Doctor set Merry down and beamed at them all. "I was wrong. I was completely and utterly wrong" he said happily, "I _do_ have a way to make a sun".

/

Merry, Clara, Laura and Charlotte all returned to the amphitheatre, where the restless crowd was waiting. "Don't panic!" the Queen of Years told them, "The sun will come back, a new sun, one that isn't a monster".

"Trust us" Clara added supportively when the murmuring grew louder at this declaration. Distantly, they heard the sound of the TARDIS materialising, and turned to see it fading into existence some way above the Pyramid, hanging there in space. "I think that's your cue, Merry" Charlotte told the young girl; she stepped up onto the pedestal for a third time and sang, "Oh Akhaten, my home, my home…."

As she sang, something incredible happened; yellow orange light began to spill out of the TARDIS, swirling down and coalescing into an orb below it, shining bright enough to light up the cap of the pyramid. In the TARDIS, the Doctor raced around the console; his old girl had come up with an incredible plan, to siphon off some of her power source, the Eye of Harmony, and expand it into another star; one that wasn't on the point of collapse, no sense in creating a black hole in the making right next to Akhaten.

The new sun grew bigger and brighter, and Merry's voice grew clearer, encouraged by the beautiful sight unfolding before them. By the time her song had finished, the sun was almost as large as the Old God had been, and bathing the Rings of Akhaten in soft golden light. Those in the stands cheered and applauded, Merry bowed to the audience, and the Doctor's three companions grinned and jumped for joy.

The other aliens came forward to congratulate Merry, and also congratulate Clara, Charlotte and Laura for defeating the Old God, realising the sun needed to be reborn, and finding a way to restore their sun to them. It took a while for them to get through the crowd, even with the help of Merry's escorts, but the Doctor was waiting for them outside the TARDIS when they reached it. Now came the hardest part of all; saying goodbye.

"Thank you, Doctor" Merry smiled gratefully, "Thank you for everything".

He smiled at her and nudged her cheek playfully. "Hey, you're welcome…and if you ever need me again, just…make a wish".

"I will" she nodded, "I won't forget any of you".

"We won't forget you either, Merry" Laura promised, leaning down to give Merry a hug.

Charlotte smiled and suggested, "You can create a whole new Festival now, write your own songs and legends…you'll go down in history". Merry hugged her as well, and then turned to Clara.

Clara knelt down and put her hands on Merry's shoulders. "You are a very talented, very special young girl, Merry Gejelh. Don't you ever forget that" she insisted, before pulling Merry into a hug. They embraced tightly for a few moments, and then the Queen of Years stepped back and watched as they waved goodbye, stepped into their time machine, and flew away to parts unknown.

/

"Home again, home again, jiggity jig" the Doctor said cheerfully, as they landed outside the Maitland residence. Clara opened the door and looked out, confirming they were on Earth and on the right street, but… "It looks different" she remarked.

The Doctor looked up and replied, "Nope. Same house, same city, same planet. Hey, hey!" he grinned, pointing at the scanner, "Same day, actually. Not bad". He swung a pretend golf club, "Hole in one!"

"You were there" Clara said suddenly; giving up two reminders of her mother had brought memories rushing back, and some of them seemed…different now. "At my mum's grave, you were watching. What were you doing there?" she asked the Doctor.

"I don't know, I was just…making sure".

"Of what?"

"You remind me of someone".

"Who?"

"…Someone who died".

"…Well, whoever she was, I'm not her, okay? If you want me to travel with you, that's fine. But as me. I'm not a bargain basement stand-in for someone else. I'm not going to compete with a ghost" Clara insisted.

The Doctor shook his head in agreement and said, "No"…then he remembered something and reached into his pocket, holding out Clara's ring on the palm of his hand. "They wanted you to have it" he told her.

"Who did?"

"Everyone; all the people you saved" he explained. She took the ring, and kissed it, and he smiled proudly at her, "You, no one else, Clara".

Clara smiled at him, waved to Laura and Charlotte (who waved back), and then left the TARDIS. The Doctor turned to his other companions and saw that Charlotte looked rather disappointed. Nervously, she inquired "Did um, did you get my necklace back? I mean, it's okay if you didn't. It's not like I needed it. I was just wondering…"

Wordlessly, the Doctor pulled something out his pocket and dangled it from his fingers. Charlotte's relief was palpable; she beamed and ran forward, taking the amethyst necklace from him and putting it back on, before giving him a grateful hug. "Come on!" she grinned when she pulled away again, "Can we go and watch a supernova?" she asked eagerly; it was something she'd always wanted to see up close. He grinned and leapt into action, pulling down the dematerialisation lever. They had a universe to explore.

/

A/N: Sorry this chapter took a while, I've been busy, had a bit of writer's block, and the additional part went on for a lot longer than I anticipated. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please favourite, follow or comment if you did!


	9. Chapter 9 - Never Abandoned

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

A/N: Super sorry for the long wait, I was struggling with writer's block and kept rewriting the last part…but at last, here is chapter nine!

I've also written a one-shot called 'Coffee Morning', which is basically an Osgood x Malcolm Taylor fanfic. It's a new ship that I came up with, and I'd really appreciate a review for that story as well, or even just a favourite.

Never Abandoned

"Right!" the Doctor exclaimed gaily, "Clara's back home, Akhaten is safe; we can go anywhere, in time or space - So! Where do you want to go, eh? What do you want to see?" he asked Charlotte with an excited grin.

She blinked in surprise and pointed at herself. "Me?"

"Sure. Laura's chosen somewhere, Clara's chosen, now it's your turn".

 _But we never went to where Laura…no, she can ask again on her next turn. I don't have to be generous all the time_ Charlotte told herself firmly…pushing aside the small, totally irrational pang of guilt, she suggested the first idea that came into her head. "Um, how about the crystal – diamond reefs of, um, something…"

"The Diamond Coral Reefs of Kataa Flo Ko?" the Doctor assumed, and she nodded emphatically. He grinned excitedly, and dashed about the console, rambling "Good choice, great choice! The Reefs are lovely, they're made entirely of diamond as you probably guessed from the name, and when the sunlight hits them, oh! It's like the ocean is glowing, in every colour of the rainbow" he told them, and they grinned in return, caught up in his enthusiasm.

They landed, and all three donned sunglasses, since the diamonds would shine too bright to be looked at without them. Charlotte opened the door first, eager to step out onto another alien world…rather than a glittering expanse of water and diamonds, she instead had to remove her sunglasses to reveal… an abbey sitting on a hill, with a series of stone steps running down to a small, old fashioned looking village on the seafront. Stepping out of the TARDIS onto the grass, she shivered in the sea breeze, and pulled on the jacket tied loosely around her waist.

Laura and the Doctor stepped outside after her. "Oh, this is…this is Whitby Abbey" Laura recognised, before frowning in bewilderment, "But I thought we were going to see a diamond coral reef".

"We were…so why did we end up here?" the Doctor wondered curiously, looking around for a sign of anything untoward. Charlotte bit her lip and glanced at him. "Um _…_ I was _going_ to pick this place, cos I felt bad that Laura never actually got to see it, but then I changed my mind" she admitted. She looked over at the TARDIS, sitting there completely innocuously, and looked back at the Doctor. "I thought you said the TARDIS liked us?" she asked, feeling a bit annoyed at her chosen trip being diverted.

"She does!" he answered quickly, before changing the subject and gesturing to the Abbey before them. "There you are then, Laura. Whitby Abbey in all it's former – well, current – glory. What do you think?"

"It's beautiful" she breathed, gazing at the stained glass, the masonry, the ornate carvings of angels and gargoyles. It was almost exactly how she'd imagined it, if not better. She turned to the Doctor with an eager smile and asked, "I don't suppose…is there any way we could see inside?"

The Doctor considered it and replied "Well, it is a monastery for monks _and_ nuns…I'm pretty sure I have some robes in the TARDIS somewhere, we could put on a disguise and tell them we've travelled from, err…where did you say you two were from?"

"Scarborough, it's just down the coast" Charlotte replied, "And are you sure about this? I mean, you and I aren't even religious. Besides, it was supposed to be my trip" she grumbled, voice heavy with disappointed bitterness.

"Um, if you want, we can leave and go to Kataa Flo Ko" Laura offered, but it was clear from her expression that she would be disappointed to not get a chance to see inside the Abbey. Charlotte was immediately torn between feeling uncomfortable in a place she knew she didn't belong in, and feeling guilty that her best friend never got the chance to experience what was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After warring with herself for a few minutes, she asked "Do you really want to go inside?"

Laura bit her lip hesitantly, and then nodded. Charlotte sighed, and dragged a hand over her face in exasperation. "I am so going to regret this…fine, we'll go pretend to be nuns – but just this one time, mind you" she insisted, wagging a finger at Laura, who nodded in agreement. "Yeah, just this once…thank you, Charlotte. This really means a lot" she smiled gratefully.

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome" the other woman replied, giving her a hug, "You owe me big time for this".

/

 _We better not get sick from this_ thought Charlotte, as she chopped potatoes. Was it called a kitchen in this time period? Well, it was where the meals were prepared, so as far as she was concerned it was a kitchen. It was, at the moment, filled with servants busying themselves preparing a feast for the monastics. The fact that they were in a time before the invention of soap – or at least before the invention reached this part of England – didn't exactly fill her with confidence.

To be fair, the experience hadn't been as bad as she'd expected. The monks were accustomed to travellers coming there when no rooms in the town could be found, and one of them showed the three time travellers around the monastery. William – the monk – showed them the gardens were vegetables and herbs were grown, the dormitories, the church with its admittedly beautiful stained glass windows, and the library in which the monks transcribed and stored religious tomes.

Seeing life in 'ye olden times', she could admit, was rather interesting. It was certainly the most immersive history lesson she'd ever had. The disguise she wore definitely wasn't the most comfortable garment, although it did keep her warm; which helped, because the Abbey rarely had fires burning. The only exception was the kitchen, where the servants (who were all women, something that got under Charlotte's skin a bit) prepared simple, plain meals for the monks.

Despite everything, Laura seemed to have enjoyed herself, which made Charlotte feel a lot better. She finished with the potatoes and carried them over to the pot boiling on the fire. Normally the meals were very bland, but visitors weren't too common, so orders had come from the Abbot himself to prepare a beef and potato stew…which was still basic, by Charlotte and Laura's standards, though for the monks it must have seemed like a feast.

Her cooking duties completed, Charlotte went to switch roles with Laura and clean utensils whilst her friend dried them. After a short while, Laura said "Thank you for agreeing to come here, Charlotte".

"Technically, I didn't agree. The TARDIS brought us here…but I know what you meant" she added when Laura made to speak, "Like I said, you're welcome".

Laura smiled happily. "You know…I wouldn't mind living in a place like this" she remarked lightly. Charlotte chuckled, thinking she was only joking.

"Ha! Sure. You know they don't have Wi-Fi here, right?"

"I could live without Wi-Fi"

Charlotte paused and stared at Laura in mock disbelief...then gradually in actual disbelief. "You're not…actually considering staying, are you?" she asked cautiously. Laura glanced away and bit her lip, rubbing an already dried pot with the rough washcloth in her hand. Her evasive non-reply made Charlotte's eyes widen. "We can't stay here" she insisted, adding more emphatically, " _I_ can't stay here".

Before Laura could respond, the cook passed by and scolded them for daydreaming. "You may be guests, but you offered to help and we have far too much to do for you both to be standing idle" she said disapprovingly. With a sigh, Charlotte apologised and turned back to the water tub, when suddenly –

 _BANG!_

Everyone in the kitchen jumped as a loud noise rang out, startling them. "What – what was _that_?" Laura asked, eyes wide in shock. The noise rang out again – a heavy dull _thud_ that vibrated through the floor. The head cook sent one of the maids out to investigate; two more thuds were heard before the young woman returned, deathly pale. "The saints preserve us" she prayed, crossing herself, almost on the verge of fainting.

"What is happening upstairs, child?" the cook urged her. The young woman swallowed and replied, in barely more than a whisper, "Soldiers, ma'am. Sent by the devil himself, they're battering the doors…" her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed into someone else's arms.

Charlotte and Laura stared at one another. "The…Henry the Eighth, the Dissolution of the Monasteries" Laura gasped, her words muffled from all hearing but Charlotte's by the fearful murmurs of the servants. The cook was trying to regain order, others were attempting to rouse the maid who had fainted, and still the heavy _thud_ of the battering ram beat out.

"We have to go. We can't stop this" Charlotte decided. Laura nodded in agreement and they both ran for it, ignoring the cries of the cook to come back. There was a small window, little more than a gap in the stone; Charlotte peered through it and saw the soldiers hefting a large log, hitting it against the locked wooden doors. _Why don't they just smash in the windows?_ She wondered, _It's not like they were planning to preserve this place anyway._

"Now what?" asked Laura; Charlotte pulled away from the window and replied, "We find the Doctor, avoid the soldiers and get back to the TARDIS, but not necessarily in that order".

They hurried down the hall, but halfway down Laura stumbled on the hem of her robes. "We're never going to run properly in these things" Charlotte declared, looking around for somewhere to hide their disguises. She sighed impatiently and decided, "I guess we don't need to run in the first place; come on, just hold your robes up". She bunched the fabric in her hands and lifted the hem off the ground. Laura followed suit, and off they went, ears and eyes peeled for any sign of the soldiers breaking into the monastery.

It wasn't long before they came across a stairwell; they were half-way up when they heard a _thud,_ and a _smash,_ and the sound of splintering wood. "They broke in!" Laura realised, her eyes widening in fear.

Charlotte tried to push away her own fear and tried to think straight. "Err, c-come on. We can't get cornered; we have to double back and try to get out of the abbey by a different door" she said, turning to hurry down the spiral staircase. Laura hurried after her, saying "There's a door in the kitchen, it leads to the garden".

"That's useful. Why couldn't you have mentioned that a bit"- Charlotte gasped when she heard somebody running up the stone steps towards them. She froze, thinking she couldn't possibly outrun a soldier in this stupid outfit – then she thought of ditching the outfit and heading back up the stairs – finally it occurred to her that whoever was coming didn't sound like they had armour on. All of this took place in a matter of seconds, and before they could make up their minds on what to do, a familiar face appeared.

"Doctor!" Laura cried in relief as the Time Lord came into view, having taken off his robes.

"Oh, thank goodness, it's just you" Charlotte sighed in relief, "Wait, where have you been?"

"Looking for you!" he replied, "Where have _you_ been?"

"We were looking for you! And now we're heading back to the kitchen, but first, I'm taking this off" she decided, tugging the black nun's dress up over her head. The Doctor clapped a hand over his eyes as Laura and Charlotte pulled off their outfits and tucked them under their arms. "We're gonna have to run and I don't really care if anyone sees me dressed like this" Charlotte declared, stepping past the Doctor and half-walking, half-jogging down the steps.

They didn't get very far before rounding a corner and coming face to face with an armed soldier. Fortunately the man was just as surprised as they were, and Charlotte had time to think of a way to distract him. "Catch!" She said quickly, tossing the robe in her hand onto the soldier's head and making him stumble; then she ducked under the man's arm as he flung it out to catch himself, and scrambled down the stairs two at a time.

The Doctor and Laura took advantage of the distraction and followed Charlotte at a quick pace. "What's the quickest way to the kitchen?" she asked when they reached the bottom of the steps. The clatter of more soldiers reached their ears; the Doctor grabbed Charlotte's hand and pulled her away from the noise. She tugged her hand away and focused on not tripping up on the flagstones that covered the floor.

Laura panted, pushing herself to run as fast as she could; but she wasn't the fastest runner to begin with, and she was falling behind. "W-wait!" she tried to call out, before suddenly screaming, " _Aaah_!"

Charlotte skidded to a halt and spun around to see Laura struggling in the grasp of two soldiers. "Hey! Get off her!" she shouted furiously, running back to try and free her best friend. She didn't get very far before a horrible high pitched noise made her clap her hands over her ears – but the soldiers were affected too, and Charlotte risked going deaf in one ear to motion for Laura to run for it!

The Doctor stuck his sonic back into his pocket as they ran for it again. "Thanks!" Charlotte gasped out, starting to feel a stitch forming in her side. They couldn't give up though, not when they were so close to the TARDIS - if only the abbey halls weren't so narrow and difficult to run through! At last, the three of them found their way to the main hall, with its oaken doors lying broken off their hinges.

Of course there were more soldiers out there, and some of the monks and servants they'd captured. The Doctor flashed his sonic at them all, and somehow made them drop their weapons, giving him and his companions the chance to dart between the soldiers and up to the TARDIS. "This way, come with us!" Laura called out to the monks and servants, but nobody approached the strange blue box and the woman dressed like a man. Charlotte tugged her through the open door of the TARDIS, which slammed shut behind them.

"Right, that's it, no more being a monk!" the Doctor declared, "Monks are not cool!"

His companions leaned against the doors of the TARDIS, panting, as he sent the TARDIS into the Vortex. "Are you two okay?" he asked them.

"Yeah…I think so" Charlotte nodded, managing to get her breath back. She made to ask Laura if she was okay, only to find Laura biting her lip, and that was never a good sign. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I'm fine".

"I know you – whenever you bite your lip like that, it means you're worried about something. Is it cos you feel bad for all those people?" Charlotte guessed, "I do too, but I don't think we could have"-

"No, it's not that" Laura interrupted, before admitting "It's just…I couldn't keep up".

"I think you were keeping up really well, considering we don't usually do a lot of running".

"But I still got caught, and…and I wouldn't have if I…if I weren't so… _unhealthy_ " said Laura, hanging her head in shame.

Charlotte squeezed her shoulder and insisted "Hey, come on, don't be like that. You're not unhealthy, you're just…not used to this kind of lifestyle. Neither am I, to be honest, but we'll _get_ used to it". She looked at the Doctor and asked, "Can you please tell her she doesn't have to feel bad about this?"

"Erm, didn't you tell her that just now?"

"Very funny" Charlotte rolled her eyes, even though he'd been genuine, "Just please tell her anyway".

"Okay, uh…Laura, you don't have to feel bad about this" the Doctor repeated. If he was meant to be making her feel better, he was apparently doing something wrong, because when Laura looked up at them her eyes had filled with tears. "No, no, no, no, don't cry. Please don't – hey, why don't we go somewhere else, yeah?" he suggested quickly, trying to change the subject, "We can try Kataa Flo Ko again, what do you think?"

"Yeah, okay" Charlotte agreed, before prompting Laura, "Cheer up; you know I hate to see you upset"-

"I'm fine!" Laura snapped, in a tone that clearly meant she wasn't fine. She resisted the urge to cry and declared "I don't think…that I want to travel anymore".

At first, Charlotte and the Doctor didn't get it. "Okay, sure, let's have a break. We can go to the diamond reefs a bit later" the former shrugged, unconcerned.

" _No,_ Charlotte – what I mean is, I don't want to be on the TARDIS. I want to stay on Earth" Laura explained, before hurriedly adding "Not – not in an abbey or somewhere like that, just somewhere modern, maybe…back in Fleetwood, or Blackpool. Is…is there anywhere you know that we could stay?" she asked the Doctor, her tears drying up at the thought of remaining safely on Earth, with no soldiers or monsters to worry about.

"I could probably find somewhere" the Doctor reasoned, moving over to the scanner. He was actually a bit disappointed – his companions didn't usually ask to leave just a few adventures in. Well, some of them did, but those were the ones he'd sort of…well, kidnapped, in a way. "It might be for the best" he remarked, "It's not an easy life, travelling with me; you're probably better off living on Earth for a while".

Charlotte couldn't believe her ears. "Uh, Laura, Doctor? I don't mean to be rude or anything, but….have you both gone crazy?!" she demanded, "We can't leave! We _cannot_ stay on Earth, that's final!"

Laura's brow furrowed in confusion as she asked "Well, why not?"

"I'd have thought it was obvious" Charlotte said in a tone of exasperation, "If we leave, we will _never_ get home".

"Of course you will" the Doctor insisted, "I'm not going to stop searching for your home universe, Charlotte, but you'll be safer staying on Earth. Well…relatively speaking, anyway" he added. After all, nowhere was ever _completely_ safe.

As if she'd read his mind, Charlotte retorted "Oh sure, we'd be safer compared to travelling with you, but when has that stopped any of your companions before? Unless, you don't consider us actual companions".

"Of course you're my companions" the Doctor replied immediately.

"Then why are you so eager to get rid of us?" Charlotte challenged, "Oh don't tell me, you just want us to be safe. Well that's nice of you, Doctor, but when _exactly_ were you planning on coming back for us? When we're in our sixties, our eighties, on our _deathbeds_?" she glowered at him. The Doctor frowned in bewilderment, almost completely lost. Where was all this coming from?

"I – Charlotte, I'm not trying to get rid of you" he defended, "And of course I want you to be safe; when I find your home universe, I'll come back for you both and take you home. Do you really think I just want to abandon you?"

"I think you'll be _late,_ because you're always late!" she groaned in frustration. "There's no guarantee that you'll even find our universe, but if you did, the odds of you coming back on time are very, very, _very_ low. Yes, I know it's dangerous, travelling with you, but it's _my choice._ It's pretty obvious why you're really agreeing to this; the only reason you took us with you is so we could help you find Clara. You've got your precious 'Impossible Girl' now, so we're just…pointless, annoying…" tears flooded her eyes, as her frustration gave way to misery.

"No, no, no, don't, don't do that" the Doctor said hurriedly, "Charlotte, you've got it all wrong. It wasn't just about finding Clara, I really did want you to come with me. Neither of you are pointless, or annoying"-

"I am!" Charlotte burst out, her voice breaking, "I can't _do_ this, I'm not good enough, but I just – I can't – I just want to go _home_!" she sobbed, turning on her heel and running up the stairs into the corridor. Laura hurried after her, but the Doctor just stood there in dismay. He hadn't been kidding when he told Kazran that he had no idea what to do when girls were crying. Should he follow them, or give them some space?

The TARDIS pulsed, and he looked up at the Time Rotor to inquire "I don't suppose you know what to do?"

Another pulse, and a five minute count-down appeared on the scanner. "You want me to wait five minutes, and then go talk to them?" he guessed, "Alright, but what do I say?"

This time, the TARDIS made a noise that sounded almost like an exasperated huff. "Of course, you couldn't tell me even if you wanted to…you'd think after centuries of travelling with companions, most of whom were young women, I'd actually understand women, wouldn't you?" the Doctor remarked.

He fiddled with the controls until the timer ran out, and then he went in search of his companions. The TARDIS led him to Charlotte's bedroom door; when the Doctor peered in, the room appeared deserted…except for the mounds under the covers and the shoes lying abandoned on the carpet. "Charlotte? Laura?" he called, stepping further into the room and approaching the bed nervously.

A muffled voice replied from beneath the quilt, "Charlotte and Laura aren't here".

The Doctor perched on the edge of the mattress and figured he might as well play along. "Ah, okay. When they get back, can you tell them that I'm sorry?"

With a creak of springs, the bed shifted as Charlotte and Laura emerged. The former smoothed her flyaway hair down as best she could and scowled at him with red-rimmed eyes. "If you're just gonna make fun of us, you can go away".

"What? No, I mean it. I'm sorry".

Laura seemed as if she might forgive him, but Charlotte remained unconvinced. "You know, I _do_ know about Rule One – but I'll be nice, and give you the benefit of the doubt".

"There's no Rule One here; I am sorry, for upsetting you, and making you think I was trying to get rid of you".

"That's probably kind of my fault" Laura sighed contritely, "After all, I'm the one who said I wanted to stay on Earth. I…I guess I wasn't really thinking about the consequences" she admitted guiltily. Charlotte leaned over to give her a one-armed hug and told her "It's alright. I get where you were coming from, but…I've been afraid of this ever since we got trapped here".

She looked at the Doctor and reminded him "Back when we first met Clara – the modern Clara, I mean - I made a mistake, I got over-confident, and you…you said if it happened again, you would kick us out. For our 'own good'…Doctor, I want to forgive you, I really do, but…I don't think I can trust you".

"I forgive you" said Laura, "But I…I'm not sure if I can trust you, either" she admitted. Their words were like knives in the Doctor's hearts; he had tried to be responsible, tried to ensure they wouldn't do anything that could risk their minds or their lives…and instead he'd lost their trust completely.

"Laura, Charlotte, listen to me" he pleaded, and they both looked at him. "I'm not going to kick you out. Not now, not ever" he declared, completely serious, "And I'm sorry, I am so sorry that I made you feel as if you had to be perfect just to be able to travel with me. I never meant to, but that doesn't matter. It was wrong of me" he admitted openly. Then he addressed them in turn, starting with Laura. "Laura, you really _shouldn't_ be ashamed if you can't always keep up. It will get easier, I promise".

She gave him a small, grateful smile and thanked him. "You're welcome" he replied, before turning his gaze to Charlotte. "I would never have meant to be late…but you're right, I probably would have been. Yes, I wanted your help in finding Clara again, but that isn't the only reason I took you both with me. I _liked_ you. You _are_ good enough to be my companion, Charlotte, both of you; please, just…trust me" he implored her.

Charlotte glanced down, considering. Part of her didn't want to forgive him so easily, or trust him just because he asked her to…but she didn't really like holding grudges, and there was a very fine line between scepticism and cynicism that she didn't want to cross. "I...I…." Her throat wouldn't let the words out, so instead she just shifted nearer and wrapped her arms around the Doctor. He hugged her back, and he hugged Laura when she moved to his other side.

A few moments later, Charlotte pulled away and smiled hesitantly. "Thanks…for everything" she told the Doctor, who smiled and replied "You're welcome. Do you still want to visit the Diamond Reefs?"

She nodded emphatically – and then blushed when her stomach growled. The Doctor bounded to his feet and told them "Put your shoes on, we're going out for lunch. I know this restaurant near the reefs that does a delicious curry…"


	10. Chapter 10 - Cold War Pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Cold War – Part One

Charlotte and Laura were having the time of their lives. After visiting the Diamond Reefs of Kataa Flo Ko, which was just as amazing as the Doctor made it sound, they returned for Clara and headed off on more adventures. Clara still insisted on only travelling with them on Wednesdays, and after Charlotte's accusation (which she'd apologised for) that he was always late, the Doctor was making an effort to return Clara to her own time _on_ time.

The four of them went all over the place, taking it in turns to pick a destination. Laura was fond of visiting World Heritage Sites, either on Earth or off world, and learning about the history. After realising how important it was that they stayed aboard the TARDIS, Laura (and Charlotte in solidarity) had been making more of an effort to improve their health. In return, the Doctor tried to land in peaceful times; he did that anyway, usually, but sometimes it seemed to come down to what sort of a mood the TARDIS was in.

Charlotte preferred reading about various places and people, and asking to visit the ones she found particularly interesting. She met people she admired, people whose works she enjoyed, and got to see Shark Bay where the earliest known lifeforms still thrived, amongst other fascinating specimens. In a lot of ways she still didn't feel quite worthy to be a companion, but with each adventure her confidence grew a little more.

Clara, naturally, chose destinations that were listed in her book '101 Places to See'. Strangely enough, they seemed to have _more_ trouble on these adventures – for instance, when they visited the Pyramids, it was during the time of the Pharaohs and they were almost sold as slaves. All of his companions insisted that the TARDIS had something against Clara, and was taking them to these more dangerous times on purpose; the Doctor insisted that his old girl would never do that, and that it must be the helmic regulator acting up again.

Despite all the distractions, Charlotte and Laura were mindful of the one adventure they knew was coming…so when Clara suggested going to Las Vegas, Laura proposed taking waterproof coats on the off chance they went off course. Luckily the Doctor was too busy sharing in Clara's enthusiasm to notice the not-so-subtle reminder of his other companion's foreknowledge. The two Whovians brought a pair of raincoats each, both tied around their waists.

"Viva Las Vegas!" the Doctor cheered as he flung open the TARDIS doors; moments before a violent tremor flung him and Clara out of the time machine and into a submarine. Laura and Charlotte splashed out after them, wincing at the icy water now swirling around their shins.

"Strangers on the bridge!" yelled one of the soldiers, the second in command….Stepashin, that was it. The captain stared at them all and demanded "Who the hell are you?"

"Not Vegas, then" Clara remarked, not entirely surprised. Only now did the Doctor realise that Charlotte and Laura knew this was coming, especially when they quickly passed him and Clara a raincoat each and pulled on their own.

"No" he agreed as he shrugged on the navy blue apparel, "No, this is much better".

"A sinking submarine?!"

"A sinking _Soviet_ submarine!"

Stepashin had apparently had enough of gawking, and barked out an order, "Break out side arms, restrain them!"

One of the soldiers sitting at the controls suddenly warned everyone "Four ten. Four twenty. Turbines still not responding!"

"They've got to!" the captain declared in alarm. The Doctor had pulled out his sonic screwdriver; he scanned the controls and pointed out "Ah! Sideways momentum. You've still got sideways momentum!"

"What?" the captain demanded.

"Your propellers work independently of the main turbines" the Doctor explained quickly, "You can't stop her going down but you can manoeuvre the sub laterally. Do it!"

"Get these people off the bridge now!" Stepashin snapped. Clara glared at him a bit and protested "Just listen to him, for god's sake!"

"Geographical anomaly to starboard" the Doctor told them all, "Probably an underwater ridge".

"How do you know this?"

"Look, we have just a chance to stop the descent if we settle on it. Do it!"

"Six hundred metres – sir, six ten!"

"Or this thing is going to implode" the Doctor warned ominously. Charlotte glanced at Laura and saw that she was afraid, even though they both knew…or hoped they knew…that the captain would give the order. She reached over and squeezed Laura's hand supportively; Laura gave her a small but grateful smile in return.

The captain decided to take the risk the Doctor was right about the ridge, and ordered "Lateral thrust to starboard, all propellers".

"Sir?"

"Now!"

"You're going to let this madman give the orders?" Stepashin demanded incredulously. The captain ignored him and barked "Lateral thrust!"

"Aye, sir! Six sixty, six eighty…" The sub leaned and drifted to the right, before settling at last on the ridge with a jerk. "Descent arrested at seven hundred metres" the soldier manning the controls reported. Clara sighed in relief, and joined the hug Laura and Charlotte were sharing.

The captain met the Doctor's eyes and conceded "It seems we owe you are lives, whoever you are".

"I'll hold you to that" the Doctor replied, "It might come in handy".

"Search them" Stepashin ordered suddenly. The soldiers hesitated, and he added exasperatedly "Yes, I know, three of them are women. Now search them!"

This time several men did grab their arms and pulled them over to a support post to be searched. They didn't resist or try to pull away, but Charlotte did glare pointedly at one of the soldiers who had grabbed her. "Don't even _think_ about trying anything, mate" she warned; not that they didn't seem to have a sense of honour, but she wasn't taking any chances.

"Are we going to be okay?" Clara asked the Doctor, partly to get her mind off being pat down, which wasn't exactly the most comfortable experience in the world – certainly one of the most awkward, though.

"Oh, yes" he replied immediately. No sooner had he done so, than Charlotte retorted "He's lying".

"Possibly" the Doctor admitted, "Very dangerous time, Clara. East and West standing on the brink of nuclear oblivion" he explained. From her position behind and to the left of the Doctor, Laura could see the soldier removing things from his pocket, and struggled not to laugh at the mystification on the man's face as he found a Barbie doll and a ball of string. _I wonder, why does the Doctor have a Barbie doll in his pocket? I must ask him later._

"Isn't it always like that?" asked Clara.

"Sort of, but there are flash points and this is one. Hair, shoulder pads, nukes. It's the Eighties. Everything's bigger. I would like a receipt, please" he told the man who had just taken his sonic screwdriver, and tried to snatch it back. The soldier handed it to the captain, who turned it over in his hands and questioned "What is this?"

The Doctor opened his mouth, then closed it again, not sure what to say. Without warning – even for Charlotte and Laura – the submarine shook violently, throwing them all over the place. Clara screamed as she was flung away from the post and against the control panels, fortunately not hitting any of the buttons. Charlotte grabbed Laura's hand to try and stop her from falling, wincing in pain as they were both flung back into the metal pole.

"Clara!"

"Doctor!"

"Laura!" Charlotte shouted as her friend's hand slipped from her grasp; Laura twisted round and fell forward into the water, landing on her hands and knees. Disoriented, she tried to struggle to her feet again, hearing the TARDIS materialising and the Doctor shouting, so much shouting all at once, Charlotte was trying to help her up but she'd hurt her left knee and it was painful to stand straight. The alarms, the shouting and screaming, it was too much; she clamped her hands over her ears and pressed her eyes shut.

Somebody else – not Charlotte or Clara- gripped her arms and heaved her upright. "Come on, girl, move your feet" an unfamiliar voice said harshly; she opened her eyes and let herself be half-led, half dragged out of the bridge, away from the noise and the lights. Laura couldn't tell where they were – some kind of corridor, with a low bench that Clara was laid on, unconscious.

Laura felt like she might fall unconscious as well; the room spun dizzily, and she sank onto the bench, nursing her injured knee. It didn't seem to be broken, just bruised, but it hurt a lot. Charlotte sat on her left and hugged her, reassuring her "It's okay, it's over". Both of them were trembling, with cold and with fear – raincoats did little when you were standing in a foot of icy seawater. Charlotte wished fervently that they'd just told pulled the Doctor aside and told him about all this, so they could have dressed more appropriately.

Speaking of the Doctor, they could hear him talking to the captain. "Captain, we didn't attack of your ship out here. Now we need to get the pumps working to get her afloat" he was saying.

"Yeah, we'll last till the rescue ship comes".

"If it comes"

"Oh, the sinking is just a coincidence, is it? Who are you?"

The raised voices woke Clara up; Laura quickly explained what was going on, and Charlotte looked over at the arguing pair just in time to see the captain shove the Doctor against the wall. "Hey stop that!" she snapped indignantly, striding towards them, only to be waylaid by two of the soldiers.

"It's okay, Charlotte" the Doctor reassured her, before addressing Captain Zhukov, "All right, Captain, all right. You know what? Just this once, no dissembling, no psychic paper, no pretending to be an Earth Ambassador – Doctor, me, Charlotte, Laura and Clara, time travellers – you girls okay?"

"Think so" replied Clara.

"Yeah" Charlotte nodded.

"I'm fine" said Laura, even though her knee still hurt a bit, but she could put weight on it so that was the main thing.

"Time travellers?" Zhukov repeated sceptically.

"We arrived here out of thin air. You just saw it happen" the Doctor pointed out.

An older man spoke up and said "I didn't".

"Your problem mate, not mine".

Clara inquired "What happened to the TARDIS?" Laura had told her they'd been sinking, and that she'd fallen unconscious before they were all taken off the bridge and into this corridor. She remembered hearing the TARDIS dematerialising, but she had no idea where it could have gone.

"Never mind that" the Doctor dismissed the question quickly. "Listen. Captain, breath's precious down here. Let's not waste it, eh?" he suggested to Zhukov.

"You're right; perhaps I can save a little oxygen by having you both shot!"

"Oh for goodness sake" Charlotte rolled her eyes, "Captain, I understand why you're suspicious, but why would we sink your submarine if we were _on_ your submarine?"

"Charlotte's right. Look, does it matter how we arrived?" Clara asked rhetorically, "The important thing is to get…out" she trailed off, hearing and seeing _something_ approaching down the corridor towards them.

"Exactly! Number one priority, not suffocating" the Doctor agreed. Zhukov heard the strange, rasping sound and let go of the Doctor, spotting what everyone else had. The Time Lord remained oblivious, assuming that the captain had changed his mind. "Eh? Ah. Oh, thank you. Finally seeing sense; now, what sort of state is the sub in?"

"Err, Doctor?" Laura said cautiously.

"What about the radio? Can we send a"-

"Doctor!" snapped Clara.

"What?" he snapped back, before hearing a hissing noise. "What is that, gas? Could be gas…" He realised the others were all staring behind him, and slowly turned around to see…something he hadn't seen in a very long time. "Ah. It never rains but it pours".

"We were drilling for oil in the ice" the elderly professor explained, "I thought I'd found a mammoth".

"It's not a mammoth" the Doctor stated obviously.

"No" Grisenko agreed, even more obviously.

"What is it, then?" asked Clara.

"It's an Ice Warrior" he replied, "A native of the planet Mars. And we go way back. _Way_ back" – all the way to his second incarnation, in fact.

"A Martian?" Zhukov scoffed, "You can't be serious".

"I'm always serious" the Doctor retorted, "with days off".

"Now what?" asked Laura, looking from the Ice Warrior to the Doctor and back.

"Just keeping it light" he whispered back, "They're scared".

"They're scared?" Clara repeated incredulously, " _I'm_ scared!"

Stepashin stepped forward with his gun aimed at the Ice Warrior, who raised his own weapon and began to power it up. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor protested immediately, "Please, please. Wait, just - There is no need for this. Just hear me out" he implored the Ice Warrior, "You're confused, disorientated. Of course you are. You've been lying dormant in the ice for, for, for how long? How long, Professor?"

"Erm, by my reckoning, five thousand years" the professor answered.

"Five thousand years? That's a hell of a nap, can't blame you if you've got out of the wrong side of bed. Look, nobody here wants to hurt you" he insisted, pushing down Stepashin's gun, "Please, just. Why don't you tell us your name?"

"What are you talking about? It has a name?" Zhukov demanded sceptically.

Charlotte frowned at him and asked "Well, why wouldn't it?"

"Of course it has a name" the Doctor insisted, "and a rank. This is a soldier, and it deserves our respect".

"This is madness. That is a monster!"

The Ice Warrior rasped one word, "Skaldak". The Doctor smiled and pointed at it, glad to be proven right, but then he realised… "What did you say?" he asked, praying he'd misheard.

"I am Grand Marshal Skaldak".

"Oh, no" the Doctor breathed, closing his eyes briefly. This was all sorts of not good, the only way it could possibly get any worse was if – Skaldak was attacked, like being electrocuted by Stepashin by a cattle prod. "You idiot!" the Doctor shouted at the man, as Skaldak shuddered and collapsed on the ground. "You _idiot_ …Grand Marshal Skaldak" he sighed, looking down at the fallen warrior.

Clara realised, "You…know him".

"Sovereign of the Tharsisian caste" the Doctor described, "Vanquisher of the Phobos Heresy. The greatest hero the proud Martian race has ever produced".

"So what do we do now?" Zhukov demanded.

"Lock. Him. Up".

/

Zhukov brought the time travellers to his cabin, not wanting to let them out of his sight. The Doctor immediately began to explain to his companions who the Ice Warrior was. "The Ice Warriors have a different creed, a different code. By his own standards, Skaldak is a hero. It was said his enemies honoured him so much, they'd carve his name into their own flesh before they died".

"Oh yeah, very nice" Clara said sarcastically, "He sounds lovely".

"An Ice Warrior?" Zhukov questioned, "Explain".

"There isn't time" the Doctor insisted.

"Try me".

"Martian reptile known as the Ice Warrior" the Doctor explained, "When Mars turned cold they had to adapt. They're bio-mechaniod. Cyborgs. Built themselves survival armour so they could exist in the freezing cold of their home world, but a sudden increase in temperature and the armour goes haywire".

"Like with the cattle prod thing" Clara realised.

"Like with the cattle prod thing. Bit of a design flaw. To be honest, I've always wondered why they never sorted it" he rambled, "Oh look, you've got me telling you about them and I said there wasn't time!"

"Is he that dangerous?" asked Clara; the captain clearly wanted to know the answer to that as well.

The Doctor looked between them and replied seriously, "This one is".

Professor Grisenko put his headphones back on; he always found listening to his favourite band relaxing. Stepashin turned to Zhukov and demanded, "Why are we listening to this nonsense, Captain? These people are clearly enemy agents" he said confidently.

"Huh?" Clara said in confusion.

"Spies, captain" Stepashin elucidated without looking at her.

"Pretty bad spies, mate. We don't even speak Russian" Clara pointed out.

Stepashin stared at her. "What?"

"We don't…" she realised something and glanced at the Doctor. "Are we speaking Russian? How come we're speaking Russian?"

"Now? We have to do this _now_?" he muttered back, before smiling at a rather suspicious Stepashin.

"Are they speaking Russian?"

"Seriously, now? It's the TARDIS translation matrix" he hissed back.

Stepashin turned to Zhukov again and declared, "In my opinion, Comrade Captain, this creature is a Western weapon".

"Are they…?"

"Yes, they're Russians".

"He um, he did say it was a Soviet submarine" Laura pointed out in a murmur.

"A weapon?" Zhukov questioned, clearly not as convinced as his second in command.

"Survival suit. What is the alternative?" Stepashin scoffed, "The little green man from Mars?"

"Correction, it's a _big_ green man from Mars" Grisenko commented, pulling off his headphones, hearing a strange beeping noise coming through them. The captain chuckled briefly.

With a singularly unamused look, Stepashin informed him "I don't appreciate your levity, Professor".

"Why does that not surprise me? Perhaps they're telling the truth".

"The truth?"

"Yes. A revolutionary concept, I know" Grisenko replied sarcastically.

"I like you" Charlotte smiled cheerfully; the professor smiled back and nodded to her.

Stepashin decided to ignore them and insisted "It's essential that we inform Moscow of what we have found".

"The radio's out of action, in case you hadn't noticed, Stepashin" Zhukov sighed impatiently.

"They have our last position. They will find us. When they do…"

"Yes?"

"Well, the Cold War won't stay cold for ever, Captain".

"For God's sake, Stepashin, you're like a stuck record" Zhukov rolled his eyes dismissively, "We have other priorities right now. I want you back on repairs immediately. We need to keep this ship alive. Dismissed" he ordered.

"Sir?"

"Dismissed, Stepashin" the Captain repeated firmly. Stepashin left the cabin, knocking Charlotte's shoulder as he went. She shot a glare at his retreating back. After he'd gone, the Doctor approached Zhukov and brushed a few drops of water from his uniform.

"All we needed to do was let Skaldak go and he'd have forgotten us. But you attacked him. You declared war. Harm one of us and you harm us all. That's the ancient Martian code" he explained, before nodding to Grisenko's beeping headphones. "You hear that? Skaldak has sent out a distress call. He will bring down the fires of hell just for laying a glove on him".

"Unless you talk to it?" asked Zhukov.

"I'm the only one who can".

"No" the captain refused immediately, "Out of the question. We're not losing you. I'll do it".

"What?"

"You can talk to it through me".

"Skaldak won't talk to you. You're an enemy soldier".

"And how would he know that?"

"A soldier knows another soldier. He'll smell it on you. Smell it on you a mile off".

"And he wouldn't smell it on you, Doctor?"

"Just let me in there before it's too late. It can't be you or any of your men".

"Well, it can't be you".

Clara cleared her throat, and the two men looked over at her. "Well, there really is only one choice, isn't there. I don't smell of anything, to my knowledge" she pointed out.

The Doctor smiled at her bravery, but it quickly disappeared when he realised what she was saying. "You? No! No! No way. You're not going in there alone, Clara. Absolutely not. No, no. Never" he refused.

Before Clara could protest, Charlotte stepped forward and told her "Yeah, he's right, you shouldn't go in there alone…so Laura and I will come with you" she added brightly, "won't we, Laura?"

"Yep" Laura nodded, "All for one and one for all".

"It makes sense, Doctor" Charlotte told him, "We're not enemy soldiers, we're not any kind of soldier, so Skaldak might be willing to speak to us. Besides, you'll be watching on the security feed anyway" she pointed out.

The Doctor looked torn for a moment. "Okay, fine, fine; but you have to do _exactly_ as I tell you…"

/

Clara, Laura and Charlotte climbed through the circular bulkhead door, which creaked and clanged shut behind them. They put on their headphones, and Clara picked up an inspection light, all three of them fighting off the rising trepidation in their hearts. Back in Zhukov's cabin, the three women and Skaldak were visible on a small black and white screen. The Doctor approached the captain and asked "With your permission?"

"Be my guest" the other man replied, moving aside so that the Doctor could sit down. He tapped the microphone and spoke into it. "Ready, you three?"

"Yeah" said Clara.

"Uh-huh" said Charlotte.

"Yes" said Laura. The plan was that Clara and Charlotte would speak to Skaldak, whilst she stood guard beside the door, ready to call for it to be opened. It was dark and creepy, and Laura felt far more nervous now than she had when she'd agreed to come down here.

" _Okay_ " they all heard the Doctor murmur, giving them the go-ahead to continue. Clara turned to the enchained Ice Warrior and addressed him. "Grand Marshal Skaldak".

" _The salute; do the salute like I showed you_ " the Doctor prompted, and all three of them pressed their clenched right fists to their left shoulders.

"Okay?" asked Clara.

" _Good. Good. Now, like we rehearsed. 'Sovereign of the Tharsisian caste'_ ".

"Sovereign of the Tharsisian caste. By the moons, I honour thee" Clara repeated the traditional greeting.

" _Good. It's okay, Clara, Charlotte. Go closer"._

Slowly, nervously, Clara and Charlotte approached Skaldak. "Grand Marshal, I'm - _we're_ sorry about this" Clara told the Ice Warrior.

" _It's not what you deserve"._

"It isn't what you deserve" she continued, just before her light flickered off, plunging them into darkness apart from the blinking red lights. "Oh, oh great" she said worriedly. As if it wasn't scary enough down here, now the power had cut out.

" _Hey, it's okay, Clara. Keep going"_ the Doctor encouraged her. She put down the inspection light and Charlotte switched on a small torch she'd been holding.

"You're a long way from home…"

" _Five thousand years_ "

"And five thousand years adrift in time. Please, let us help you. You are not our enemy" Clara insisted.

Skaldak spoke for the first time since they had entered the torpedo room. "And yet, I am in chains".

"With all due respect" Charlotte said quickly, "You'd have done the same if our roles were reversed".

"How do you know that?" asked Clara. Before she could answer, Skaldak rasped "Perhaps…the Doctor told her to say so".

" _I think he wants to speak to the organ grinder, not to the monkey_ " Grisenko commented in the background. Clara frowned and muttered "I heard that".

" _Well, Charlotte is right"_ the Doctor admitted, _"You are restrained until we can trust each other, Skaldak. You would do exactly the same in my position, and don't even think about using that sonic weapon, not in the torpedo room_ ".

"I was Fleet Commander of the Nix Tharsis" Skaldak rasped. "My daughter stood by me. It was her first taste of action. We sang the songs of the Old Times". Clara noticed something was off, and began to edge closer. Charlotte hesitated; she looked over her shoulder at Laura, just able to make out her silhouette. Skaldak continued, "The Songs of the Red Snow. Five thousand years. Now my daughter will be _dust_. Only dust" he hissed. Despite the emotion in his voice, Skaldak hadn't moved a muscle, and his unnatural stillness unnerved Clara.

" _No, no, no. Listen, your people live on Skaldak, scattered all across the universe. And Mars will rise again, I promise you. Just let me help you_ ".

"I require no help" Skaldak refused, "There will be no help".

"Clara, be careful" Charlotte cautioned, as Clara drew nearer to the Ice Warrior.

"I'm okay".

" _Clara, listen. Don't get too close"_ the Doctor warned her.

"I'm okay" she repeated, "Doctor…something's wrong".

" _What?"_

"Something's…" she reached up to touch Skaldak's helmet, and it fell backwards, revealing empty space. Clara staggered back in shock, gasping. "It's not there, it's gone!"

The suit of armour opened up; there were blinking lights, tubes and wires inside, but no sign of Skaldak. _"Gone?"_ the Doctor demanded in alarm, " _Gone? Gone? What do you mean, gone?"_

"It got out!" she hissed.

"It is time I learned the measure of my enemies" rasped Skaldak; the three of them looked around nervously for the Ice Warrior, expecting him to leap out at them at any moment, "And what this vessel is capable of".

" _No, no, no, Skaldak!_ "

"Harm one of us and you harm us all; by the Moons, this I swear".

"Let us out!" Laura shouted through the door, struggling to shift the bar that would unlock it from the inside. Charlotte and Clara ran over to help her, as the Doctor urged _"You three, get out of there!"_

"What do you think we're doing?" Charlotte snapped; she always got a bit irritable when she was afraid for her life. The door opened at last, and Laura scrambled out of the hole, with help from Onegin, the one crewmember that had been willing to go down there with them. Then Charlotte quickly followed, but before Clara could get out, Skaldak rushed past her and down the corridor, startling them all.

Charlotte and Laura were helping Clara out when the Doctor, Grisenko and Zhukov ran up. "Are you all"- the Doctor began.

"I'm okay" Clara laughed, "We're okay! We're okay. Where did he go?" she asked, looking around for Skaldak but not seeing any sign of him. Meanwhile, Grisenko was picking up a strange, staccato beeping on his Walkman. Charlotte hugged Laura, who was still trembling a bit. "That was _horrid_ " she whimpered, shuddering.

Clara came back over and asked the Doctor, "How did we do? Were we okay?"

"This wasn't a test, Clara" he insisted, a bit distracted.

"I know, but"-

"You were great, yeah".

"Really?"

He cupped her cheek and smiled at her, "Really".

"Doctor?" the professor called, "The signal, it stopped".

The Doctor put his ear next to Grisenko's headphones, but heard nothing, and his expression darkened. "Skaldak got no answer from his Martian brothers. Now he's given up hope" he realised, running a hand agitatedly through his hair.

"Hope of what?" asked Zhukov.

"Being rescued" the Doctor replied, his back to them, "He thinks he's been abandoned". He turned and warned them seriously, "He's got nothing left to lose". Clara's eyes widened nervously, Laura gulped and Charlotte tensed. The Doctor led them through the corridors of the submarine, back to the bridge, intending to try and fix the radio and send out a mayday.

Zhukov questioned, "But what can he do, stuck down here like the rest of us? How bad can it be?"

The Doctor stopped, turned and gave the submarine captain the most incredulous look he could muster. "This sub's stuffed with nuclear missiles, Zhukov. It's fat with them. What do you think Skaldak's going to do when he finds that out? How bad can it be? How bad can it be? It couldn't be any – mmph!"

Charlotte had scrambled forwards and pressed her hand over his mouth. "Don't say it!" she hissed, "Whenever you say something like that, it gets worse!"

No sooner had she spoken, than the sub shifted on its precarious perch and a hatch sprang open, icy water pouring in. "Oh great, now _I'm_ doing it!" Charlotte groused. She was soaked to the skin, the raincoats doing no good at all. _I should have brought a flipping snorkel or something_ she thought to herself.

Fortunately, the corridor didn't flood and the hatch was soon closed again. They sloshed their sodden way back to the bridge, where the rest of the crew – the ones still alive, more than one of them realised – were gathered. The Doctor and his companions stood to one side respectfully whilst Zhukov addressed his men. "Comrades, you know our situation. The reactor is drowned. We are totally reliant on battery power and our air is running out. Rescue is unlikely, but we still have a mission to fulfil.

"If the Doctor is right, then we are all that stands between this creature and the destruction of the world. Control of one missile is all he needs. We are expendable, comrades. Our world is not. I know I can rely on every one of you to do his duty without fail. That is all" he dismissed them. The crew dispersed, but the tense atmosphere lingered. Charlotte nudged Laura with her elbow and muttered "I bet he's a good captain, but he'd make a lousy motivational speaker".

Laura sniggered a bit, and both of them smiled innocently at Zhukov when he glanced over at them. Charlotte looked over at the Doctor, who was sitting at one of the control panels, and saw an opportunity to check on something that'd been bothering her. She sidled up to him and tapped his shoulder. "Hey. Um…are you mad that I didn't warn you about this?" she asked hesitantly when he looked up at her.

His stony expression didn't exactly fill her with confidence. "Am I mad that you knew we'd end up on a sunken submarine, stranded with an Ice Warrior intent on destroying all, and didn't bother to mention it to me?" he asked rhetorically, glaring at her – before abruptly smiling and assuring her, "Of course not, I did say I didn't want too many spoilers".

Charlotte scowled at him. "Very funny" she deadpanned, "Are you really not mad? Cos a lot of this could've been avoided if I'd just come clean in the first place" she admitted, feeling just a little bit guilty.

The Doctor reached up and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "It's not your fault, Charlotte. Just because you have foreknowledge, doesn't mean you always have to use it. Things hardly ever turn out the way you expect". He tugged the collar of her raincoat and smirked in amusement, "Case in point".

"Yeah, so much for trying to be prepared" Charlotte said ruefully, "Thanks. I feel better now".

"Good" the Doctor smiled at her, before turning back to the control panel. Charlotte left him to it, and went to lean against the wall with Laura…she'd lied a bit, actually. She did feel better about not forewarning the Doctor in advance, but she couldn't help feeling uneasy, knowing that at this moment Skaldak might be crushing Stepashin's life out of his skull.

/

A/N: And on that depressing note, here ends chapter 10! Since this episode has Russians in it, I'd like to recommend a song set to the music of Tetris, of all things, called 'The Complete History of the Soviet Union, through the eyes of a Humble Worker'. Not the catchiest title, but it is a pretty catchy song. I'd put a link, but FF doesn't like that, so instead I'll just say that you should totally look it up if you've got five minutes to spare.


	11. Chapter 11 - Cold War Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who and I never will

Cold War – Part Two

Clara crouched on the seat beside the Doctor, resting her arms on the back of it. "Even if a missile did get launched, that wouldn't be… it, would it?" she asked him.

"It?" he questioned back.

"End of the world" she explained, "Game over. I mean, what if they fired one by accident. What would happen then?"

"I told you, Clara. Earth is like a storm waiting to break, right now. Both sides baring their teeth, talking up war; it would only take one tiny spark" the Doctor warned.

Clara protested "Yeah, but the world didn't end in 1983, did it, or I wouldn't be here".

"New" he smirked, explaining "History's in flux. It can be changed, re-written". Clara was somewhat disturbed by the notion that if the world ended now and they somehow survived it, she, Charlotte and Laura would just cease to exist. For that matter, Charlotte was wondering what would actually happen to her and Laura. Would they just die, or would they be sent home? Not that she wanted to end the world to get home, it was just a passing thought.

The Doctor went to talk to Zhukov; he and his men were arming themselves with rifles. "How many of us are left?" he asked the captain.

"Twelve, and we can't find Stepashin".

"We split up and comb this sub" the Doctor instructed, "One team stays here to guard the bridge".

"That's it? That's the plan?" Zhukov demanded sceptically.

"Well, it's either that, or we stay here and wait for him to kill us".

"Okay" the captain deadpanned, moving away. Clara, Laura and Charlotte approached the Doctor. "Is it true you've never seen one outside of its shell suit?" Clara inquired curiously.

"Shell suit?" he repeated, and she shrugged. "Clara! For an Ice Warrior to leave its armour is the gravest dishonour. Skaldak is desperate. He is deadly and we have got to find him" the Doctor murmured gravely.

"Will this help?" asked Grisenko, holding up the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.

"Ah! You saved it!" the Doctor cried in relief, taking it from the professor. Grisenko explained "No, no, it was on the floor with this", holding up the Barbie doll.

The Doctor took the doll from him as well and kissed it, earning odd looks from all three of his companions. "Oh, Professor, I could kiss you!"

"If you insist" Grisenko replied bluntly.

The Doctor stared at him and frowned slightly. "Later" he replied, before turning and flashing the sonic on. Now this would make things a _lot_ easier…hopefully.

"Do we want to know why you've got a Barbie doll in your pocket?" Charlotte asked him.

"Probably not" he answered dismissively, before walking over to Zhukov and insisting on his going in search of Skaldak. After all, he actually had a way of tracking the Ice Warrior now. The captain was reluctant to let him go alone in case Skaldak attacked him; then Grisenko volunteered to go with the Doctor, and so did his companions…well, Laura was a bit reluctant, but she quickly changed her mind when Charlotte pointed out that the bridge was probably were Skaldak would come to fire the missiles.

The five of them made their way through the submarine in search of Skaldak. The Doctor led the way, Clara followed with Grisenko, and the two Whovians brought up the rear. Charlotte periodically looked over her shoulder, checking for any sign that they were being followed. Her skin crawled at the thought of Skaldak lurking just out of sight, ready to pounce… _Ugh, come on Charlotte. This is no time to be paranoid_ she admonished herself firmly.

After they'd gone through a bulkhead door, Clara asked the professor, "So, why have you got a cattle prod on a submarine?"

"Polar bears".

"Ah, right".

"We run across them when we're drilling. Can be quite nasty, you know" he elucidated.

"I'd swap one for an Ice Warrior any day. Cuddlier" Clara tried to joke, but it came out a bit forced.

"Courage, my dear" Grisenko said encouragingly, "I always sing a song".

"What?"

"To keep my spirits up" he explained.

"Yeah, that would work, if this was Pinocchio" Clara replied sarcastically. Suddenly an alarm went off, the Doctor having fiddled just a bit too much with a control box he'd found. Grisenko spoke over the noise. "Do you know 'Hungry Like The Wolf'?"

"What?"

"Duran Duran, one of my favourites. Come on!" he prompted.

Clara insisted "I'm not singing a song!"

"It does kind of help" Charlotte remarked, "I sing sometimes to stop myself being scared…just not _that_ song" she added firmly, she didn't really like that song.

The Doctor opened a hatch, which fortunately didn't pour in water, and stuck his head inside. A long, low, creaking echoed inside, sounding eerily like an animalistic roar. "What was that?" Clara asked nervously.

"It's just the pressure, I think" said Charlotte, "We're like, seven hundred metres below the surface, you know".

"Don't worry about it, think of something else" Grisenko suggested. He smiled and hummed a few lines of the song he'd mentioned. "Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, I am hungry like the wolf…"

"I'm not singing" Clara asserted.

"Don't you know it?"

"Course I know it. We do it at karaoke, the odd hen night" she shrugged.

Grisenko stared at her in puzzlement. "Karaoke? Hen night?" he repeated, bewildered, "You speak excellent Russian, my dear, but sometimes I don't understand a word you're talking about".

They continued to move through the submarine, but suddenly up ahead they heard growls and screaming. The Doctor broke into a run, the others close behind; but they were too late. All they found were two stiff, bloodied corpses. Charlotte and Laura hung back, having no desire to see the carnage, but Clara just kept staring, unable to tear her gaze away.

"Good God" breathed Grisenko, staring in horror at the dismembered corpses, "Torn apart. It's a monster, a savage".

"No, Professor. Not savage, forensic" the Doctor explained, "Well, he's dismantled them. Skaldak's learning; learning all about you, your strengths, your weaknesses. Come on" he beckoned to them, hurrying out of the room. Grisenko tugged Clara along after him. They moved to another part of the corridor, and the Doctor stopped at a ladder to another level. "Stay here" he told his companions firmly. Laura and Charlotte nodded emphatically, and Clara agreed "Okay".

"Stay here, don't argue" he insisted again, used to his companions wandering off the moment his back was turned.

"We're not" replied Clara, and he blinked, realising they actually were going to stay put. Well, he knew Charlotte and Laura would stay there, they'd listened to him before, but it was nice to know that Clara would as well. "Right, good" he nodded, before climbing up the ladder.

When he'd disappeared, Grisenko sighed and remarked "Oh, it's a young man's game, all this dashing about". He sat down to rest on the edge of the open bulkhead door, and noticed the young women's troubled expressions. "What is wrong?" he asked them.

Charlotte slung an arm around Laura's shoulders and replied "Nothing. We just got a bit creeped out back there, that's all".

"I see. And you, Clara?"

Clara insisted, more to herself, "I was doing okay. I mean, I went in there and I did the scary stuff, didn't I? We all went in there with the Ice Warrior and it went okay. Actually, it went just about as badly as it could have done but that wasn't our fault".

"Not at all" Grisenko shook his head.

"So I'm happy about that" Clara stated.

"Yes".

"Chuffed" she murmured, sitting down on a bottom rung of the ladder.

"And so you should be" the professor told her, "So what's the matter?"

"…Seeing those bodies back there. It's all got very real. Are we going to make it?" Clara asked worriedly.

Grisenko nodded encouragingly and replied "Yes, of course".

"Don't worry, Clara" Laura smiled at her, "I'm sure everything will be okay".

"Yeah, I mean, the Doctor hasn't let us down before, right?" Charlotte added, and Clara nodded in agreement.

The ship creaked around them and she looked around warily. "What was that?"

"The Doctor told you, it's just the boat settling" the professor reminded her, "Tell me about yourselves. What do you like doing?"

"Uh, well, I like drawing, and watching animation – oh, and baking" Laura replied, glad of an excuse to take her mind off the situation. Grisenko nodded, seemingly interested, before looking expectantly at Charlotte.

She shrugged and answered "I like reading and writing, that sort of thing. Nothing major".

"An artist and an author, eh? You make a good pair" Grisenko told them, before turning to Clara. "How about you, Clara?" he prompted.

"Stuff, you know, stuff" she answered, distracted by the noises she could hear, not sure if all of them were just the ship settling…

"Stuff, very enlightening" Grisenko said with mild sarcasm. His tone grew more serious as he asked, "And the Doctor. What he said, is it true? You're all from another time? From our future?"

The three women looked at one another, not sure how to answer or even if they should. "Um, yeah, we are" Laura replied hesitantly.

"Tell me what happens" Grisenko said urgently, his voice raspy. Clara stared at him in alarm. "We can't" she protested, backing away.

"Clara, come back" Laura said worriedly, remembering how she'd been grabbed by Skaldak. Clara ignored her, but Charlotte was reminded of that particular part of the episode and looked up at the ceiling, trying to spot the Ice Warrior lurking up there.

Grisenko moved forwards, insisting "Well, I need to know".

"We're not allowed!"

"No, please!"

"We can't!"

"Ultravox, do they split up?" Grisenko demanded. The three women stared at him, and then Clara laughed in relief. "Funny. You're funny" she smiled at him; then she gasped, feeling cold scaly claws grab her head. The other three cried out at the same time:

"Clara!"

"Stop!"

"Let her go!" Grisenko shouted, pulling out a pistol and shooting up at Skaldak. The creature released Clara, and Laura immediately wrapped her in a hug. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I think so" Clara answered shakily. She gave the professor a grateful smile; he smiled back and remarked, "See? I don't just like Western music". He twirled his gun around his fingers – and cried out in alarm and pain as Skaldak seized _his_ skull, sharp nails digging into his skin.

"No, please don't hurt him!" Clara begged, as the Doctor came running up behind them, "Please, please!"

Grisenko cried out in pain as Skaldak gripped his head harder, as if about to crush it like an egg. "You attacked me" the Ice Warrior rasped, his voice cruel and angry, "Martian law decrees that the people of this planet are forfeit. I now have all the information I require. It will take only one missile to begin the process, to end this Cold War". They could make out a wide, scaly mouth and glowing red eyes in the gloom – a face of nightmares.

"Grand Marshal, there is no need for this" the Doctor insisted desperately, "Listen to me."

"My distress call has not been answered. It will never be answered!" Skaldak hissed furiously, "My people are dead. They are _dust_. There is nothing left for me except my revenge" he snarled, sending a shiver trickling down their spines. Back in the torpedo room, his still enchained armour closed itself up.

"There _is_ something left for you, Skaldak" the Doctor contended, " _Mercy_ ".

"Mercy?" Skaldak repeated, almost mockingly. Before the Doctor could elucidate, Captain Zhukov strode up with another soldier in tow. "You must wear that armour for a reason, my friend. Let's see, shall we?" he remarked to Skaldak, raising his weapon.

The Doctor quickly ran over and pushed the gun back down. "No, Captain, wait!"

"I will do whatever it takes to defend my world, Doctor!" Zhukov glared at him.

The Doctor looked between him and Skaldak, making 'calm down' gestures. His companions huddled to one side, wisely keeping out of it all. "Yes, great, fine, good" he agreed, "but we are getting somewhere here. We are negotiating, jaw-jaw, not war-war".

"Churchill?" Grisenko guessed, surprisingly calm for someone whose life was on the line.

"Churchill" the Doctor nodded.

"Very well, we'll negotiate, but from a position of strength" Zhukov asserted, raising his weapon again but not firing.

"Excellent tactical thinking" Skaldak remarked, "My congratulations, Captain".

"Thank you".

"Unfortunately, your position is not, perhaps, as strong as you might hope" Skaldak commented with a growl.

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked nervously.

A clanging noise announced the answer; Skaldaks armour had walked to him, having broken its shackles, which now clinked against the metal. Skaldak released the professor at last and darted inside the opened suit. "He summoned the armour" the Doctor said, rather obviously.

"How did it do that?" asked Clara.

"Sonic tech, Clara" he replied, "The song of the Ice Warrior".

The submariner who accompanied Zhukov stepped forwards and fired his rifle ineffectually at Skaldak's back, as the Ice Warrior stomped away.

"No!" the Doctor cried, pulling the man away. Honestly, couldn't any of them see that shooting at Skaldak was just going to make things _worse_?

Skaldak ignored the spray of bullets, stalking down the corridors of the submarine. "My world is dead but now there will be a second red planet. Red with the blood of humanity!"

"Skaldak! Skaldak, wait!" the Doctor called, running after him. Zhukov quickly followed, as did the other crewmember. The rest of them hesitated. "Are you alright?" Clara questioned Grisenko.

He rubbed his hands over his face and thinning hair, checking for any wounds. "Yes. Yes, I think I'm fine. Are you?"

"Yeah" she nodded, "Thank you for saving me".

"You were really brave" Laura smiled, "Both of you".

Charlotte moved to the hatch and climbed through it. "Meanwhile, Ice Warrior about to blow up the planet!" she reminded them, and they hurried after her, all four of them running as fast as they could to catch up. They passed soldiers slumped in the corridors; no time to check if they were alive or not, but there didn't seem to be any blood so hopefully they were just unconscious.

/

Skaldak reached the bridge, and plugged his cybernetic suit into the controls. The launch key locks turned, and alarms began blaring as a missile was prepared for launch. The Doctor ran in shouting "No! Skaldak, wait! Wait, wait!"

"He's arming the warheads" Zhukov warned, aiming his weapon at the Ice Warrior; the few crew members who hadn't been killed or knocked aside during Skaldak's rampage through the sub followed suit.

"Where is the honour in condemning billions of innocents to death?" the Doctor asked Skaldak, "Five thousand years ago Mars was the centre of a vast empire. The jewel of this solar system. The people of Earth had only just begun to leave their caves. Five thousand years isn't such a long time. They're still just frightened children, still primitive. Who are you to judge them?"

The Ice Warrior's suit unhooked from the controls, and he turned to face the Doctor head on. "I am Skaldak! This planet is forfeit under Martian law" he maintained.

"Then _teach_ them" the Doctor insisted, "Teach them, Grand Marshal. Show them another way. Show them there is honour in mercy. Is this how you want history to remember you?" he demanded, "Grand Marshal Skaldak, Destroyer of Earth. Because that's what you'll be if you send those missiles" the Doctor declared, as his companions hurried into the room and pulled up short, "Not a soldier, a murderer". Skaldak grunted dismissively and turned back to the controls, reaching out to press the red button.

"Five billion lives extinguished! No chance for goodbyes. A world! A world snuffed out like a candle flame! Alright!" the Doctor shouted, "Alright, Skaldak, you leave me no choice. I'm a _Time Lord_ , Skaldak. I know a thing or two about sonic technology myself!" he announced, pointing his sonic screwdriver at Skaldak.

The Ice Warrior turned around once more. "A threat?" he snarled, " _You_ threaten me, Doctor?"

"No; no, not you, all of us" the Doctor replied, his voice low and dangerous, "I will blow this sub up before you can even reach that button, Grand Marshal. Blow us all to oblivion" he threatened.

"You would sacrifice yourself?"

"In a heartbeat" the Doctor replied, flicking his sonic on, the tip glowing red.

"Mutually assured destruction" Skaldak rasped, turning back to the control panel. Even though she knew he wouldn't press it, Charlotte felt her chest tighten fearfully. She blindly reached out and grabbed Laura's hand, squeezing it to comfort them both at the same time.

"Look into my eyes, Skaldak" the Doctor challenged, "Look into my eyes and tell me you're capable of doing this. Huh? Can you do that? Dare you do that? Look into my eyes, Skaldak. Come on, face to face".

The Ice Warrior turned once more. "Well, Doctor" he stated, his helmet falling back to reveal a reptilian visage with red eyes, a concave dip on the top of his head, and sharp pointed teeth. "Which of us shall blink first?"

"Why did you hesitate?" Clara asked suddenly. She didn't know what she was doing, really, she just felt like she had to do _something._ "Back there, in the dark. You were going to kill this man, remember?" she said, gesturing to the professor, "I begged you not to, and you listened. Why show compassion then, Skaldak, and not now?"

A slight frown creased Skaldak's scaled brow. "The Doctor's right" said Clara, moving forward warily, "Billions will die. Mothers, sons, fathers, daughters…Remember that last battle, Skaldak?" she asked him, "Your daughter…you sang the songs…"

"Of the Red Snows" he recalled, lowering his head in remembrance. Abruptly, the whole submarine shook, sending them tumbling and staggering about. "What's happening?!" Clara demanded in alarm. What was happening, in fact, was that they were being dragged up through the water by a tractor beam.

"My people live" Skaldak realised, "They have come for me!"

"We're rising" Zhukov realised, "We're rising!"

"Six hundred metres" Grisenko announced, checking one of the instruments, "Five fifty…"

As the pressure above them lessened, the faster they rose; in a couple of minutes the top of the submarine broke through the ice. "We've surfaced" the Doctor said to Skaldak, "Your people have saved us".

"Saved me, not _you_ " Skaldak sneered.

"Just go, Skaldak, please. Please, go in peace" the Doctor insisted. Skaldak was teleported away in a burst of red.

"We did it" Clara gasped, "We did it!"

Charlotte shook her head, watching the Doctor, who had moved over to the controls. "It's not over yet" she murmured.

"No" the Doctor agreed, "No, no, no, no, no. It's still armed. A single pulse from that ship… I'll destroy us if I have to" he told himself firmly, "I will destroy us if I have to. Show mercy, Skaldak. Come on. Show mercy" he breathed, pleading, desperate.

Clara was scared, and she thought maybe singing to take her mind off her fear wasn't such a bad idea after all. "Da, da, da, da, I'm lost and I'm found, and I'm hungry like the wolf…"

Then, at last, the alarms stopped blaring. The missile silos closed up. The Doctor switched off his sonic screwdriver and rubbed his forehead. " _Now_ we're safe".

Clara sighed in relief, before walking up to the Doctor and hugging him tightly. Laura decided she had the right idea, and practically glomped Charlotte, who laughed and hugged her back.

A moment later, Clara pulled back from the Doctor and cleared her throat. "Saved the world, then?" she smiled at him.

He smiled back, "Yeah".

"That's what we do" she grinned.

"Yeah" he nodded, grinning as well.

"Can we go on deck?" asked Laura, "Or, whatever it's called on a submarine?"

The captain nodded and beckoned for them to follow him. "It's this way to the conning tower" he explained.

They went out on the tower, leaning on the side of the sub, and looked up at the Martian spaceship. It was massive, a great silver and glowing blue vessel that vaguely reminded Charlotte and Laura of a crab. "The TARDIS!" Clara exclaimed suddenly, "Where's the TARDIS?"

"Oh well, don't worry about that" the Doctor hedged awkwardly. Clara wasn't having any of it. "Stop saying that" she demanded, "Where is it?"

"Yeah…well, I wasn't to know, was I?"

"Know what?"

"I've been tinkering, breaking her in. I'm allowed" he said defensively.

"Maybe you shouldn't be" Charlotte quipped from behind him. He shot her an annoyed glare, but she just grinned at him.

"What did you do?" asked Clara, in the tone she used when inquiring about what Angie and Artie had got up to whilst her back was turned.

"I reset the HADS" the Doctor mumbled quickly, looking everywhere but at Clara and the others.

"Huh?"

"I reset the HADS" he repeated, still murmuring the last two words.

"The what?"

"The HADS!" he blurted out at last, "The Hostile Action Displacement System. If the Tardis comes under attack, gunfire, time winds, the _sea_ , it…relocates!" he explained with several gesticulations.

Laura and Charlotte shook their heads at him in amused exasperation. "Oh, Doctor" Clara sighed, summing up how all three of them felt.

"Haven't used it in donkey's years. It seemed like a good idea at the time" the Doctor protested weakly, before adding "Well, never mind, it's bound to turn up somewhere".

As if on cue, his sonic screwdriver began whirring. "Ooh, ha, see? Right on cue, brilliant" he smiled, pulling it out of his pocket.

"Brilliant" agreed Clara.

"What does it say?" asked Laura. She already knew, of course, but she figured she might as well act like she didn't.

"The TARDIS is at the pole".

"Not far, then" Clara remarked.

"The South Pole" the Doctor corrected.

"Ah…"

He looked at Zhukov and asked, "Can we have a lift?"

The captain and the others chuckled, retreating back into the depths of the submarine. The Doctor stayed outside a little longer, to salute the Martian ship as it flew away, before he too retreated into the…relative warmth of the sub. "We'll comb the sub, gather any survivors…and the bodies, put them to rest" Zhukov decided, the few crewmembers with him nodding solemnly. They set out to fulfil the duty, whilst Zhukov and the Doctor discussed the recent events.

Charlotte didn't want to interrupt them, but she had a concern…she sidled over to the submarine captain and the Doctor, waiting for them to notice her. When they looked at her she hesitated, before asking, "Err, if we _did_ get a lift to the South Pole, how long would it take for the submarine to get there, exactly?"

"Well, at our current speed, if we set sail tomorrow we should arrive there in…roughly seventeen days" Zhukov informed her.

Charlotte blinked in surprise. "Oh, that's…really? I thought it'd take longer than that" she remarked, "Well, okay. That's fine, I suppose…what?" she asked the Doctor, who had a smug knowing smile on his face.

"You don't want to wait that long, do you?" he guessed. Charlotte rolled her eyes and retorted, "That's rich, coming from you. I'm not saying I _mind_ waiting seventeen or so days, I just"-

"Well, actually, it'll take us an extra few days to reach the pole itself; how long depends on whether or not we can get a plane to fly us there" the Doctor interrupted. She glared at him a bit before continuing "Like I was saying, I don't mind the wait, I was just wondering if there were any alternatives available".

"Such as…?" the Doctor inquired curiously.

"I don't know…can't you summon the TARDIS using your key and a battery? You've done that before" she pointed out.

Before he could reply, Clara demanded "How do you know that? Both of you", she looked between Charlotte and Laura, "It's like you knew this was gonna happen. First the raincoats you insisted on bringing, and then you didn't seem surprised by Skaldak, and…and you knew about the security feed, and what to say to Skaldak…"

"To be fair, the last two things could have been lucky guesses" Charlotte pointed out. Clara stared at her, and she sighed. "Sorry. You deserve an explanation, but let's go somewhere more private first" she decided, before turning to Zhukov and warning him "By the way, all of that, strictly confidential".

He nodded in understanding. She nodded back, and then looked at the Doctor. "I give it about three hours before you start going crazy and figure out a way to bring the TARDIS back. You might as well get a head start" she smirked jokingly at him. The Doctor gave her an indignant frown, which looked more like an adorable pout in her opinion, and turned to Zhukov to ask if he wouldn't mind some of his ship's equipment being used to summon the TARDIS?

Laura, Charlotte and Clara gathered in a corner out of the way; the latter regarded the other two with expectant, questioning eyes. "We're really sorry we didn't tell you sooner" Laura apologised guiltily.

"We were going to, honest, we just…didn't have a reason before. I guess we were putting it off cos we didn't know how you'd react" Charlotte added.

"I don't care what it is, I just want to know the truth" Clara insisted.

Charlotte took a deep breath and explained, "Laura and I…aren't from this universe. We're still human, a hundred percent, but we…sort of walked through a crack in space-time, or something, and fell into this one. Here's the awkward part, so just, brace yourself…in our universe, you and the Doctor and the TARDIS and everything else is…well…fictional".

"Fictional?"

"Yeah, it's part of a TV series called 'Doctor Who'" Laura elucidated, "Charlotte and I have seen episodes of some of the Doctor's adventures, that's how we know some things are going to happen".

"Just a few things" Charlotte amended, "We don't really have that much foreknowledge or anything, and we're not allowed to talk about it anyway…but yeah, that's how we know. Sometimes we…probably me, most of the time – might mention things from past episodes, adventures from before you were travelling with him".

"Wait, so…so this was an episode?" Clara inquired hesitantly, trying to wrap her head around it all.

"Yeah, but I don't think anyone's watching us, if that's what you're worried about" Charlotte reassured her quickly.

Clara still had her doubts. "How can you be so sure?"

"I'm not, but seriously, _we_ weren't in the episode, so I think us being here makes this an alternate timeline that nobody in our universe is viewing" Charlotte explained, before adding "It's probably best if we don't think about it too much. The next time we have an adventure that corresponds to an episode, we'll just have to…I don't know…do each other's makeup, or something" she shrugged.

Clara laughed. "Okay. Parallel universe, I can handle that. Parallel universe where I'm fictional…that's going to take a bit longer, but I'll manage" she decided, before wondering aloud, "Do you think the professor would give us a tour of the sub?"

"Hmm, I don't see why not" Laura reasoned. Charlotte nodded in agreement, eating a handful of raisins from a packet in her pocket, and offering some to Laura and Clara. She'd gotten into the habit of carrying snacks around with her in case she got hungry at an inopportune moment. Thus refuelled, the three of them went to ask Grisenko for a tour of the submarine, whilst they waited for the Doctor to finish whatever doohickey he was making to bring the TARDIS back.

/

A/N: Next time on 'Alterations' – Familiar places are visited, oddly familiar people are met, and Laura comes face to face with both her biggest dream and biggest nightmare…

Should I do 'next time trailers' for all the chapters? I might go back and add some in, just to be consistent, what do you guys think?


	12. Chapter 12 - Dear Little Brother

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, or any of the games that are mentioned in this chapter.

A/N: Sorry this is rather late; I was struggling with writer's block for the last quarter. Also, I don't think I'll bother with sneak peaks, seeing as how I'll probably keep forgetting to do them.

Dear Little Brother

The gentle hum of the TARDIS filled Laura's bedroom as she sat on the edge of her bed, lost in thought. There was a knock on the door; she blinked, looked up and called "Uh, come in".

Charlotte opened the door and smiled brightly at Laura as she stepped inside. "Hey! You alright?" she asked, shutting the door and walking over to the bed. "The Doctor's busy on the console, doing who knows what" she explained, flopping onto her back and then sitting up again.

Laura nodded hesitantly and replied, "Okay". This wasn't exactly true, but she wasn't upset or anything, she was just a bit…down. Laura partly hoped that her friend wouldn't notice, but in fact Charlotte did, and she immediately raised an eyebrow. "You sure?" she asked doubtfully, "Cos you've got that look on your face, you know".

"W-what look?"

"Your 'something's bothering me but I won't talk about it' look" explained Charlotte, "Come on, what's wrong?"

"…I guess I'm just a bit…homesick" Laura admitted after a moment or so. Charlotte sighed and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, me too…but, there's not much we can do about it" she pointed out, as hard as it was to say that. Normally she tried not to think about how very far away from home they were, and tried to ignore the myriad of little moments that reminded her of her family…which was a lot of things, unfortunately. She took a deep breath and gave Laura a friendly squeeze. "Let's go on an adventure, take our minds off it" she suggested.

"It's not just that, it's...today is when…when Josh died" Laura mumbled, not meeting Charlotte's eyes. Charlotte sighed; Laura had lost her unborn baby brother in a car accident and she'd never quite gotten over his loss. Bouts of sadness overcame her on the awful anniversary, making her very melancholy and unresponsive. She glanced at Charlotte and said "I don't think I feel like going on an adventure today".

"You can't just stay in here" Charlotte protested in dismay, "It won't be as fun exploring without you. We can go wherever you want, just…you can't sit in here moping" she prompted.

With a bit of coaxing, she got Laura out of her bedroom and back to the console room. The Doctor was lying on his back on a skateboard under the console room, like it was a car engine. Charlotte walked over and lay down on her stomach next to him. "Hey" she smiled cheerfully at him.

"Hey!" he grinned back, gripping the edge of the console to slide from underneath it. Charlotte put a hand on his shoulder and quickly muttered "Laura's feeling kinda down. Don't ask her why, just…let her pick the destination. I know it was your turn but"-

"Yeah, that's fine" the Doctor agreed almost immediately, before sliding out from under the console and practically bouncing to his feet. "Okay, so, where do you want to go?" he asked Laura. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully and said "Um, well, Charlotte and I are feeling kind of homesick, so maybe we could visit the parallel version of our home town?" she suggested hesitantly, "Just for a little bit".

"What if we accidentally run into our alternate versions?" asked Charlotte, before realising, "Actually, that would be pretty cool! We could pretend we were like, their clones from the future or something. If we did meet them, it wouldn't be that bad, would it?" she asked the Doctor, "I mean it's not like the universe would explode or something".

"Well, no…but it isn't usually a good idea to meet the parallel you. At least it never worked out for me" he answered, walking over to the scanner.

"Is that because the alternate versions of you that you met were all evil?"

"What – no! They weren't _all_ evil...look, that's not the point here. The point is, we need to ensure you're not going run into your parallel selves. Meeting yourself, under _any_ circumstances, makes you competitive, argumentative and just generally"-

"Whoa, whoa, hold on! Meeting yourself makes you competitive and argumentative?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow, "What about your Ganger? You didn't compete or argue with him, as far as I remember".

"Uh, that – I – clones don't count" –

"How do they not count?" she laughed, "If you meet your clone then you've met yourself…or were you talking about meeting your other incarnations? You're saying that every single time you've accidentally crossed your own timeline, you've argued and competed with yourself…except for when the fifth and tenth Doctor's TARDISes merged, for one. I feel like this is really about you being afraid that you'd have four of us ganging up on you at once".

The Doctor stared indignantly at her. "I – that's not – this isn't…shut up!" he rambled, pointing a warning finger at her. Charlotte and Laura sniggered and walked over to look at the scanner over his shoulder. Images of their faces appeared on one side of the screen, with two black spaces on the other side. "What is it doing?" Laura asked curiously.

"The TARDIS just scanned you both, and now she's analysing the data from Earth, England, 21st century to see if there's any matches for your identity within those parameters. She should be finished right…about…now" replied the Doctor – and the scanner continued. Embarrassed, he gave them both a warning 'don't-even-think-about-it-look', and they pressed their lips together in an attempt to not giggle.

A few moments later, the scanner reported that no matches for their identities could be found. "Does this mean we can visit our alternate hometown?" Laura inquired, hope filling her voice.

The Doctor nodded, and held up a hand, saying "Now this doesn't necessarily mean that your parallel friends and family don't exist here; so whatever happens, no matter how tempted you get, don't go looking for or talk to them if you see them. I know that might be hard, and I'm sorry, but it's for the best. They wouldn't recognise you, they wouldn't be _your_ family. It would just be difficult for you…okay?"

They nodded solemnly. The TARDIS materialised and landed with the characteristic thump...Laura swallowed, and moved towards the door in trepidation. She pushed open the door, stepped out and blinked in the sunlight. Once her eyes adjusted, she could see the beach and the coloured wooden chalets the TARDIS had landed beside, and the castle ruins up on the cliff… "We're here! This is it!" she beamed, looking around at the familiar sight.

Charlotte and the Doctor followed her out, the former slipping on a pair of sunglasses. "It really is…oh, there's one difference already. The SeaLife centre here is modelled after the Sydney Opera House" Charlotte noticed, pointing down the beach at the white, geometric building, "It actually looks quite good" she remarked approvingly.

They walked along the beach towards the arcades and the town, trying to spot anything else that looked unfamiliar, but not much did. "It's so weird…if I didn't know we were in an alternate universe, I'd think we were back…" Charlotte commented; then she shrugged and added "Eh, I guess when you've seen one seaside town you've seen them all, right?"

"What's the difference between a parallel universe and an alternate universe anyway?" Laura wondered.

Before the Doctor could start to explain, Charlotte launched into a theory of her own devising. "Well I think a parallel universe is where one is, like, a mirror of the other – you know, like a universe where everyone is gender-swapped".

"Or where good people are bad and bad people are good?"

"Exactly; and an alternate universe is where it diverged and split off at a key point in history, and that's why there are all those time-differentials and stuff" she finished…before looking at the Doctor and hopefully inquiring "So…am I close?"

"Uh, well…no" he admitted, "You're on the right lines, but what you're thinking of are mirror universes and parallel universes, or alternate timelines".

"So are there universes where everyone is gender-swapped?"

"Laura, there are billions of parallel universes out there, all sort of…well, you know those Russian nesting dolls? Imagine all the universes nested inside one another, except they're never touching and in the space between is the Void, which goes on forever, even though it's full of parallel universes; no, on second thoughts, forget I said that, nobody could imagine that. Suffice to say that yes, in theory there is a universe somewhere, where gender or morality or some other variable has been flipped over".

"What about the other two things?" asked Charlotte, "What's the difference between them?"

"Okay, first of all, the difference between a parallel universe and an alternate one is that a parallel universe is just, sort of an off-shoot; an example of how things could have been, an alternate timeline essentially; but a fully alternate universe replaces the one it split off from entirely" the Doctor explained.

Once his companions had digested this information, Charlotte curiously inquired "I always wondered, you can feel the planet turning, right? How do you not get dizzy?"

"The same reason you don't feel it at all; I'm moving at the same speed as whatever planet I'm on…plus, I'm not really feeling the spin the way I think you're imagining it. You were picturing me actually feeling the ground move underneath me, like a giant treadmill, weren't you?"

"Uh…maybe…"

He chuckled. "It's not really like that at all; it's not a physical sense, per se, it's part of my time sense" he explained.

Laura asked "Is your time sense what lets you see the future?"

"Yeah, but I really see potential futures; what could be, what should be and even what must never be".

"I never got that either" Charlotte admitted, "I mean, doesn't that get confusing? What if you get distracted by something in a potential future timeline and walk into a wall, or something – oh wait, that would actually explain a lot" she grinned in amusement.

"Ha, ha, very funny; and that doesn't happen because I can see the present, past and future simultaneously, but I can also keep them separate in my head. I'd explain how it works, but you wouldn't really understand".

"Cos we're dumb humans" Charlotte said in a mock self-deprecating manner. As the Doctor had discovered, she had a bit of an odd sense of humour; she didn't want their friendship to turn into, as she put it, "a weird Freudian pseudo-parental thing' because of her homesickness, and decided the best way to not think of him as a father figure would be to tease the stuffing out of him. He was getting used to it.

"Of course not; it's just that human brains aren't designed to be able to picture three different realities simultaneously, without them overlapping. Plus, for me it's so intuitive that I don't think about it much, so I'd have trouble describing it" the Doctor explained. By now they'd reached the arcades, with the pinging slot machines and the _chink_ of coins.

"See, this is what I love about you humans" the Doctor smiled, "You just carry on; never mind the alien invasions, you've got things to do, chips to eat, arcades games to play on…"

"Yeah, but don't forget, we're in Britain" Charlotte remarked, "Besides, I always thought this stuff was kind of point- ooh!"

Distracted, she hurried over to a claw machine and pointed at a stuffed blue dolphin plush inside. "Aww, look at the cute little dolphin! I love dolphins" she beamed happily, "It's so adorable…I wish I was good at these claw things. Or that I had money…do either of you have any money?" she wondered.

The other two shook their heads, and then the Doctor suggested "I can just sonic the machine on, if you like. I can get the dolphin for you as well".

Charlotte blinked at him. "Err…wouldn't that be like stealing?"

"Well…yes…but they'll get plenty of money from everyone else that comes here, I don't think one twenty pence piece is going to make much of a difference".

She sighed and said "It doesn't matter; I don't really need a plush toy, I'm too old for them anyway, and I don't want to steal it – it's a matter of principle – so, goodbye adorable dolphin plushie".

Laura decided she wanted to make sure her friend got that dolphin – it really was adorable – so she spoke to a passing teenage boy and politely asked him "Excuse me, you don't happen to have a spare 20p, do you?"

The boy dug a hand in his pocket and pulled out a handful of change, counting out two 10ps and handing them to Laura. She in turn gave them to the Doctor, who fed them into the machine (it accepted them, fortunately) and deftly manipulated the joystick to pluck the dolphin from the pile and drop it into the chute. He handed it to Charlotte, who hugged it to her chest and beamed gratefully at him; then she noticed the boy staring at her and quickly stopped squeezing the toy. "Aheh, thanks for that…it's for my little sister".

"Sure, no problem" he replied with a casual shrug.

"Yeah, thanks" Laura smiled, before asking "Um, have we met? You look…sort of familiar" she noticed. He was a bit taller than her, and lanky, with tight jeans and a 'Guns'n'Roses' t-shirt on. His eyes were dark blue, like her dads, and his hair was dark brown, like her mum's…exactly like, in fact...it was uncanny.

"Um, don't think so. I'm Josh, by the way, Josh Seamer" he introduced himself, holding out a hand to shake. Laura just stared at him, so the Doctor shook his hand instead. "Good to meet you, Josh, you're a life-saver. Well, not literally. It's quite a coincidence actually, Laura here is…Laura? Are you alright?" the rambling Time Lord asked in concern, seeing as how Laura had grown rather pale, and was staring at a now uncomfortable Josh as if he were a ghost.

"J-J-Josh?"

"Uh, yeah…are you okay?" he asked, wondering if she wasn't quite right in the head.

Laura swallowed and asked shakingly, "H-how, how old are you?"

"I'm sixteen…why?"

Other people were starting to notice, their gazes landing on Laura; she finally noticed the attention and shook her head. "N-nothing, I…I'm sorry, I have to go" she said hurriedly, before ducking past Josh and running out of the arcade. Charlotte hastily apologised – "Sorry about this" – and ran after her, with the Doctor close behind. Laura didn't get far; just around the corner of the building, where she stood leaning against the wall, her face buried in her hands.

Charlotte came and placed her hands on Laura's shaking shoulders. "Hey, don't cry, please. It's alright…it might just be a coincidence" she reasoned. Laura lowered her hands and sniffled, "No, it isn't. It's him, I _know_ it is. I can feel it!"

The Doctor looked at them both helplessly. "Err, sorry, Doctor not following here, Doctor very lost. Laura, what's wrong?"

"It's Josh, Doctor. He's my little brother!"

"What?"

"He's alive here. He's alive…did you see him? He looks so handsome…" she sniffled and stared helplessly at the ground. The Doctor looked at Charlotte, hoping she might have more of an answer. Charlotte sighed and explained "When Laura was seven, her mum got pregnant. On the way to the hospital, her dad was in a rush and, a car ahead braked suddenly…they didn't think anyone was badly injured, but when they got to the hospital, the baby was…"

She trailed off, because it was clear from the Doctor's expression that he understood. He pulled Laura into a hug and closed his eyes in regret. "Oh, Laura, I'm so sorry…"

For lack of any better ideas, Charlotte joined in the hug. Laura pulled away first and scrubbed at her reddened eyes, insisting "I'm okay now. Honest…it just shook me up a bit, that's all".

Charlotte bit her lip and hesitantly suggested, "Uh, maybe…maybe it'd help if you went back and apologised for running off, and tried to get to know Josh a bit…you know?"

This suggestion had Laura looking thoughtful; or doubtful, it was hard to tell with her sometimes. "Um…I'm not sure he'd want to talk…and besides, we promised the Doctor, remember?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure if this is a great idea" the Doctor admitted. Charlotte frowned and asked "Can't you ignore your rules this one time? I mean, it's the only chance she'll ever get to spend time with her brother. I'm not saying she has to tell him who she actually is, I just think it'd be good for her to have closure. Are you saying it's bad for me to want my best friend to have closure?"

"No, that's not…look, I know you mean well, but I think Laura will just be hurt more if she spends time around someone who isn't really her brother".

"You don't know that for sure; she never got to know her real brother, so finding out what he might have been like will be good for her".

"You don't know _that_ for sure" the Doctor protested.

"Guys!" Laura cut into their argument with a huff, "Please stop arguing".

Both of them looked contrite immediately. "Sorry" Charlotte sighed, "It's really your decision in the end" she admitted.

"Yes, it is" Laura agreed firmly, before faltering and adding "I just wish I knew _what_ to decide. I mean, I would like a chance to…to see how Josh might have turned out, if things had been different. He's probably left the arcade by now, though" she pointed out, frowning a bit in disappointment. Charlotte's face fell a bit as well, and she put a hand on Laura's shoulder in sympathy.

"…Well, then. We'll just have to find him, won't we?" the Doctor asked rhetorically, "And there's always the possibility that he _hasn't_ left the arcade".

His two current companions looked at him in surprise. "You – you're okay with this?" asked Charlotte.

"Well, like you say, it's Laura's decision really" he acknowledged, before asking Laura, "Do you think you're up for spending time with Josh?"

The thoughtful-doubtful expression came back. "Hmm…I want to try, I know that much. I don't think he'll really want to hang out with a complete stranger he's only just met, though. I didn't exactly make the best first impression, after all" she pointed out, embarrassed.

It was true that Josh had probably been less than impressed with her odd behaviour, but maybe he'd understand…one could only hope, right? "Not to pressure you or anything, but this is sort of a once in a lifetime opportunity…" Charlotte pointed out.

Laura took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You're right…let's go and find my little brother".

/

It didn't take long to track Josh down again; they found him in the arcade, playing Mario Kart. Laura took a deep breath and approached him, hoping she didn't look as nervous as she felt. "Um, hey, Josh?" she said cautiously, to get his attention. He looked over and did a double take, before pausing the game so he could talk. "Oh, hey; we met earlier, right?"

"Yeah, by the claw machine. Uh, sorry about running off like that. I have these panic attacks sometimes, but I'm fine now" she explained. It was as good an excuse as any.

"That's good…it wasn't something I did that set you off, was it?"

"No! No, it's fine. Anyway, uh, I felt bad that we got off on the wrong foot, so I thought I'd come back and just, see if you wanted to hang out" Laura explained with a shrug.

Josh shrugged right back. "I got nothing better to do, so sure". He held up the other controller and switched the game to multiplayer mode. "Wanna play?"

"You bet" Laura smiled, taking the controller. He was Mario, she was Princess Peach, and he won the first round – but not by much. "You're not bad. You play a lot of video games?"

"Yeah, but _Sonic the Hedgehog_ is my favourite".

"No kidding, mine too. Hey, where're those friends of yours?"

"Oh, I think they're getting chips. So, uh, where are your friends?"

Josh was busy steering his character around an obstacle to answer, but then he replied "They're all out of town or sick. There's this flu going round, just so y'know".

"I'll keep that in mind" Laura said. She appreciated the advice, and was glad that she'd got into the habit of taking a bottle of antiseptic gel around with her. So had Charlotte; sometimes they got into rather icky messes, and they wanted to feel like their hands were clean after they'd been in dungeons or slogging through swamps. "Sorry about your friends" she added.

"Eh, it happens. Still sucks, though".

"Yeah…well, I'm happy to hang out with you, however long you want".

"Thanks...um, can I ask why? Uh, no offence, it's just…we only met ten minutes or so ago".

Oh dear; this was what Laura had been dreading. She'd never been good at coming up with excuses right off the bat, and the truth – 'Because you're actually the alternate version of my stillborn younger brother and I've always wondered what you'd be like' – just wasn't going to cut it. She had to give him _some_ kind of answer, though. Laura bit her lip and then explained "It's no big deal…like I said, I felt awkward for how things went first time, and I wanted to try again. Also…you kind of remind me of someone I knew a long time ago, and I guess that makes you interesting".

"Huh. That makes sense, I guess. So…you ready for me to beat you in Mario Kart again?"

Laura grinned, "Bring, it, on".

They played another two rounds of Mario Kart before moving on when they realised there were impatient people behind them. "Should we go for a walk?" Laura suggested, "It's a really nice day, it'd be a shame to spend it indoors".

"Sure, why not?" Josh shrugged, sounding a tad bored. Oblivious, Laura left the arcade with him in tow and began making her way down the boulevard, heading towards the park. There was a fish and chip shop near the other side of the park and that was probably where Charlotte and the Doctor had gone. "I was thinking we could go up to the fish and chip shop and meet up with my other friends. I think you'll like them" she said confidently.

"Uh, sure...but the chippie is the other way" said Josh, pointing back the way they'd come.

Laura pulled up short and grinned awkwardly. "Oh…I was going to the one near the park, but if there's one nearer than that, then"-

"What park? You mean the skate park?" Josh asked, frowning in confusion, "There isn't a chippie near there".

"Err, no, I mean the park…you know, with the ducks and squirrels, and Chinese lanterns and everything?"

Josh stared at her like she'd lost her mind. "There isn't a park like that around here…are you sure you're not thinking of somewhere else?"

 _Oh, right – parallel world, duh_ Laura chided herself, face-palming. "Uh, yeah, I must've been…so, err, where is the chip shop?" she asked awkwardly, before suggesting "Maybe later we could go to this skate park you mentioned".

Josh raised an eyebrow at her. "Can you skate?" he asked dubiously, giving her the once-over. Laura flushed a bit in embarrassment and admitted, "Well, uh…no, I can't. Still, maybe you could teach me a bit? If you skate, that is" she added hastily.

Before he could answer, Josh's mobile rang. "Hang on a sec" he said, taking it out of his pocket. "Hey, mate…oh, nice one! Yeah, I'm just down by the arcades…nah, don't bother, I'll come up and meet you there…yeah, see ya" – he hung up and stuck the phone back in his jeans, before shrugging apologetically at Laura. "My mate Ian just got out of his part time job at Tesco's. So err, it was nice meeting you and all, but I'd better get going…"

"Wait!" Laura spoke up hurriedly, "Uh, maybe I…maybe I could come with you, to meet Ian?"

"Shouldn't you be looking for your other friends?"

"You and Ian could help me look…"

"Uh…look, Laura…it is Laura, right?"

"Yeah…"

"No offence or anything, I'm sure you're nice but…you're kind of creeping me out. You're just not my type, okay?" Josh said awkwardly.

Laura stared at him for a few seconds as it sunk in, and then pulled a face. "Oh, eugh, no! I wasn't – I'm sorry I made you think I was – I mean _you're_ not my type either".

"Gee, thanks".

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that!" Laura backtracked quickly and face-palmed again. "Ugh, stupid… _stupid…_ "

People were starting to turn their heads, and Josh shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. "Uh, it's fine, honest...so, um, I'll see you around?"

"Wait! Just, wait…I wanna show you something" Laura said quickly, "It's really cool, and it won't take long. It's just down the promenade".

"What is it?" Josh asked suspiciously.

"It's err…it's hard to explain. Just come and see it, please. You'll like it, I promise" she said earnestly. Josh was still doubtful, but he felt kind of sorry for her, so he reluctantly agreed, "Okay, so long as it doesn't take too long".

Laura beamed and beckoned for him to follow her. She hurried back down the promenade, to the end of the chalets. The TARDIS was right where they left it. Laura stepped up to the door and pulled out her key, placed it in the lock…but it wouldn't turn. She frowned and twisted it harder, but to no avail. "Oh, come on" she huffed, "What gives?"

"Is this it?" Josh asked, "A box?" It was clear from his tone, now that Laura was paying attention, that he wasn't very impressed.

"It's not just a box. I mean, think about it – have you ever seen this box here before?"

He shrugged and said "Dunno".

"It hasn't always been here, Josh. It's how my friends and I got here, and I can show you, if I could just – ugh – get it open" she complained, scowling in frustration. The key remained stubbornly un-turnable. _Come on, Sexy, let me in. Please?_ Laura pleaded telepathically with the TARDIS…at least she thought she was, she had no idea how it worked. Either way, there was no sign of the TARDIS opening.

"You came here in a box?" Josh scoffed, before muttering "Now I know you're crazy".

"I'm not crazy!" Laura protested indignantly, having overheard him. Josh raised an eyebrow, and she realised that everything she'd done so far – running off, insisting there was a park when there wasn't, asking to meet his friend and now trying to break into a police box – it was all going to make her seem crazy, and she didn't want him to think she was nuts… "Joshua, please, you have to believe me. I know I've been acting weird, and you're probably wondering why I'm bothering you so much. The truth is…"

Laura hesitated. _Can I tell him?_ Should _I tell him? The Doctor was right, I shouldn't have tried to talk to Josh, but there's no going back now…_ She took a deep breath, "The truth is, I'm actually…from a parallel universe. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true, I swear".

"Parallel universe? What, like in a sci-fi novel?"

"Yeah, exactly!" Laura nodded, "I'm from a universe where – well, where you're my little brother. That's who you remind me of".

"Right…I'm leaving now" Josh decided, turning on his heel and walking away. Laura hurried forward and grabbed his shoulder. "I can prove it!" she said desperately, "Your full name is Joshua Alan Seamer, you were born on the 25th July, your mum and dad are called Gemma and Alan, you used to live in Lancashire with a cat named White Socks, and now you live in a terraced house in town, up from the fire station".

Josh stared at her in disbelief. "How the heck do you know all that?" he demanded, now seriously disturbed.

"Because we're related!" she insisted, "In a parallel world at least".

"No way, that's insane. There's no such thing as parallel universes. Seriously, I need to leave, my mate's waiting for me".

"Please, just _listen_ – I'm not crazy, I just wanted to get to know you!"

"Yeah, but _why?_ Let's say I humour you; if I'm the parallel version of your brother, then why would you need to get to know me? Are we different somehow?"

"No, you – you're not alive in my universe. You were stillborn, but I always wanted to know what you'd be like if you'd made it, and instead I've made you think I'm a crazy stalker or something, and it all went _wrong_ …" Distraught, Laura's eyes filled with tears, which spilled down her cheeks. Josh winced – he hadn't meant to upset her, he was just weirded out, and who could blame him?

"Aw, jeeze, don't cry. Come on, don't – look, how about we pretend all of this never happened. You go your way, I'll go mine and I won't tell anyone about this, okay?"

She sniffled, blew her nose and answered "I'm _really_ sorry, Josh. I ruined your day, and I should've known better…you should just leave. It was nice meeting you" Laura said despondently, leaning against the TARDIS with her head hanging. Josh opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again, not knowing what to say…he looked again at the blue box she was leaning against, and realised that every time he'd walked down here, he'd never seen it before.

His phone buzzed – it was a text from Ian, asking him what was taking so long. He texted back to say he'd be there soon, and then took a deep breath. "Hey…how about I help you get inside this box? You can show me whatever's inside, and then we'll let bygones be bygones – or whatever the saying is".

Laura stepped away from the box, frowning. "Okay…but how? The key won't turn".

"Don't need the key" he said confidently, pulling it out and handing it to her. Then he took out a wallet and removed a lock-pick from the spine, inserting it into the keyhole.

 _Sorry about this, Sexy_ Laura thought apologetically, before asking with a touch of disapproval, "Where did you learn to pick a lock?"

"Nowhere bad" Josh replied, "It's just, I forget my house key a lot, so a friend of mine taught me this as a backup".

"Oh, I used to do that a lot. Forget my key, I mean…I attached it to the inside of my bag so I wouldn't forget it, but then I'd go out without my bag instead".

Josh chuckled in spite of himself. Something clicked in the lock, and he said "Hang on, I think I've almost got it".

Someone cleared their throat behind the pair. The Doctor and Charlotte had returned, the latter holding a bag full of fish and chips (as well as her dolphin toy) and wearing a worried, guilty expression. She stepped between Josh and the Doctor, and implored him, "Don't be mad at her, it's my fault for say"-

The Doctor just _looked_ at her, and she felt her insides wither. Charlotte winced and stepped aside, next to Laura. "I'm so sorry" she apologised, feeling guilty for not realising what a bad idea she'd suggested.

"It's okay" Laura forgave her; after all, she knew Charlotte had only had her best interests at heart.

"It's not their fault, mister" Josh admitted, "It was my idea to pick the lock – she wanted to show me what was inside" he explained, gesturing to Laura.

"Inside that box" the Doctor began, "Is everything…and it isn't yours to show off" he admonished Laura. She shrank down and apologised. "I'm really sorry; I guess I got a bit carried away".

The Doctor's gaze softened. "Well…there isn't really a _rule_ against showing anyone the TARDIS. I just want you to _ask me_ next time, okay?"

"Okay" Laura nodded immediately, "…but I didn't know where you were".

He just looked at her, and pulled his phone out of his jacket.

"Oh, _right_ …"

That reminded Josh that he had somewhere else to be. He pulled his lock-pick out and tried to sidle away, but the Doctor held an arm out and blocked his path. "Hey, look, I'm sorry I tried to break into your box, but I need to go, I'm late to meet someone" Josh explained a touch impatiently.

"Don't you want to see everything?"

"What do you"- Josh cut himself off when the Doctor snapped his fingers, and the door to the TARDIS swung open. He peered inside, and his eyes widened…he went in a bit further… "No way…no freaking way!" he exclaimed, staring around the interior in amazement. "It's bigger on the inside…how'd you do that? Is it some kind of optical illusion?"

"Something like that" the Doctor said airily, ushering his companions inside and shutting the door behind them all. He bounded up to the console, leaving Josh standing in an almost stupor.

Josh turned to Laura and said, "I take back what I said about you being crazy. _This_ is crazy".

She grinned a bit and said in reply, "It's okay; I'd probably think I was crazy too".

"That's really my fault" Charlotte cut in. "I said that Laura should get to know you…I thought it would give her closure, but I didn't really think about how it would look from your point of view. So, sorry about that" she apologised to Josh.

He shrugged and answered, "Don't sweat it – I didn't really mind the company. You're not half bad" he told Laura.

"Thanks; you're a nice guy as well. I'm really glad I met you" she smiled back.

"Yeah…am I really your brother in another universe? Or, who your brother would have been…"

"It's true" Laura nodded earnestly, "but I understand if you don't believe me".

"After seeing this place, I'm not sure what to believe" Josh admitted. The Doctor grinned manically, and darted away from the console – he'd put the stabilisers on for once – over to the doors. "You ain't seen nothing yet" he said in a Texan accent, pulling open the doors to reveal a spiral galaxy. Everyone moved to stare out at it in awe.

"Woah…is that for real?" Josh asked in disbelief. He stretched an arm out, expecting it to be a hologram, but nothing happened. "What are we breathing?"

"Don't worry, I've extended the air shell" the Doctor reassured them, before explaining "This is the Nigellan Four Galaxy, in 3025, the height of the Nigellan Empire. So, Josh, if you had managed to break into my TARDIS - which you wouldn't have, by the way – do you think you'd have managed to pilot her here?"

"No…"

"Do you think you'd have managed to do anything at all?"

"No…"

"Do you want to go back now?"

"…Yes, please".

They shut the doors, and the Doctor piloted them back to the beach. "That was insane…I think I believe you now" Josh told Laura, "After seeing that, I can believe anything. Man, Ian is gonna think I'm"-

"He's not going to think anything" the Doctor interrupted, "Because you're not going to tell him, because you're not going to remember this".

"Huh? What d'you mean?"

"I'm going to erase your memory of us" the Doctor explained bluntly

"Even me?" Laura asked sadly.

"He'd never be able to tell anyone about you" the Doctor pointed out. Laura thought about it and realised he was right, and sighed. "Yeah, okay…it was really nice to meet you, Josh" she told him, "You're a great guy, and your mum and dad should be proud of you. I know mine would be. I love you, and I'm really gonna miss you, my dear little brother". She stepped forward and hugged him tightly, then let go and stepped back.

Charlotte put an arm around her shoulders and nodded to Josh. He nodded back, and then looked at the Doctor, wondering how on earth the guy was going to erase his memories. "This won't hurt a bit" the Doctor promised, before pressing his fingers to Josh's temples. The boy blinked, his eyes glazing over; the Doctor guided him out of the TARDIS and shut the door, before going back to the console and putting them in flight.

"He'll be fine – he'll wonder how he got there and then he'll go off and meet his friend" the Doctor explained. He put his hands on Laura's shoulders and asked gently, "How do you feel?"

"A bit sad…but I think I'll be alright. Thank you for helping me convince Josh I wasn't lying" she replied gratefully.

He smiled and tapped her on the nose. "You're welcome".

"You're taking us breaking the rules pretty well" Charlotte noted hesitantly.

"Well, it's just as much my fault as yours, in a way" the Doctor acknowledged, "And after all, you're only human. I hope you've both learned your lesson, though".

"Oh, definitely" Laura nodded emphatically, as did Charlotte.

"Good…now, let's eat these fish and chips, eh? I'm starving" the Doctor declared, taking a box out of the plastic bag.

"Are they still warm?" asked Laura.

"Don't worry, I sonicked the containers to increase the insulation by a factor of 10…"


	13. Chapter 13 - Hide Pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Hide – Part One

On a dark and stormy night, four people under two umbrellas hurried up to the steps of a large manor. Taking shelter beneath the archway of the doors, they closed their umbrellas and the Doctor knocked several times on one of the wooden doors, ushering his companions to hide behind the wall. When the door was opened, he waited all of five seconds before stepping out from behind the other door. "Boo!" he laughed, "Hello, I'm looking for a ghost".

"And you are?" the man inquired. Clara stepped out, along with Laura and Charlotte, and replied with a grin, "Ghostbusters".

"I'm the Doctor" the Time Lord introduced himself, holding up the psychic paper.

"Doctor what?"

"If you like; and this is Clara, Charlotte and Laura" he added, pointing to each of his companions in turn before pushing past the man and into the house. His companions offered apologetic shrugs as they followed the Doctor, who had run over to the table of equipment like a child in a candy store. "Ah, but you are very different. You are Major Alec Palmer Member, of the Baker Street Irregulars, the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, specialised in espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance behind enemy lines".

The Major didn't look exactly pleased with the praise, but the Doctor didn't seem to notice. "You're a talented watercolourist, professor of psychology and _ghost hunter_ " he beamed happily, shaking the man's hand and assuring him it was a "Total pleasure, massive".

"Actually, you're wrong" said the young woman working with the Major, "Professor Palmer spent most of the war as a POW".

"Actually, that's a lie told by a very brave man involved in very secret operations" the Doctor replied, "The type of man who keeps a Victoria Cross in a box in the attic, eh?" He gave Palmer a conspiratorial wink and nudge, before turning to his assistant. "But you know that, because you're Emma Grayling, the Professor's companion".

"Assistant" she corrected.

"It's 1974, you're the assistant and 'non-objective equipment' – meaning psychic" he told his companions.

"Getting that" Clara nodded, "Bless you, though".

Charlotte smiled at the Professor and Emma and said "It's nice to meet you. Also, sorry about him, he gets over-excited; hasn't taken his meds yet" she joked.

"Oi!" the Doctor exclaimed indignantly, "I don't have meds".

"Sorry" Charlotte said uncontritely, suppressing a grin.

"Relax, Emma" Palmer reassured his assistant, "He's military intelligence. So, what is all this in aid of?" he demanded.

"Health and safety" the Doctor announced, "Yeah, the Ministry got wind of what's going on down here, sent me to check that everything's in order".

"They don't have the right" Palmer insisted.

"Don't worry, guv'nor, I'll be out of your hair in five minutes" the Doctor reassured him a bit flippantly, before grinning and pointing at one of the machines. "Oh! Oh, look. Oh, lovely. The ACR 99821" he told his companions, "Oh, bliss. Nice action on the toggle switches. You know, I do love a toggle switch. Actually, I like the word 'toggle'. Nice noun. Excellent verb" He slapped Clara's hand away from the controls, "Oi, don't mess with the settings".

Charlotte coughed " _Hypocrite"_ as the Doctor walked past. He pretended not to hear her and instead pulled out his sonic screwdriver, scanning the room along with Alec and Emma.

"What's that?" asked the Major.

"Gadget; health and safety - Classified, I'm afraid. You know, while the back room boffins work out a few kinks" the Doctor replied, scanning a darkened archway.

"What's it telling you?" asked Clara.

"It's telling me that you haven't been exposed to any life-threatening transmundane emanations" he explained, before spinning on his heel and asking, "So, where's the ghost?" He picked up a candelabra, "Show me the ghost. It's ghost time".

/

Lightning and thunder crashed outside the house, as the six ghost-hunters made their way through the corridors, the Doctor leading the way. Professor Palmer followed right behind him, insisting that "I will not have this stolen out from under me, do you understand?"

"Err, no, not really, sorry".

"I will not have my work stolen, then be fobbed off with a pat on the back and a letter from the Queen. Never again. This is my house, Doctor, and it belongs to me".

"This is actually your house?" Clara asked in surprise.

The Major confirmed, "It is".

"Sorry. You went to the bank and said, 'you know that gigantic old haunted house on the moors? The one the dossers are too scared to doss in? The one the birds are too scared to fly over?' And then you said 'I'd like to buy it, please, with my money'".

"Yes, I did, actually".

"That's incredibly brave" said Clara, impressed.

Laura nodded in agreement. "I'll say" she remarked; just the thought of staying here overnight creeped her out a bit, let alone the thought of living here. Especially knowing there was a creature skulking about; something creaked and she shuddered a bit.

"Listen, Major" the Doctor told him, "we just need to know what's going on here".

"For the Ministry" he guessed.

"You know I can't answer that".

"…Very well. Follow me".

/

Palmer led them to a living room. The Doctor picked up a camera and snapped a picture – of himself, leading Charlotte to quip, "Congratulations, you've just taken the world's first selfie, and it's still pointless".

The Doctor just smirked and tapped her on the nose. They both wandered over to Laura, Clara and Emma. "So, what's an empathic psychic?" Clara asked Emma, the latter having described herself as one.

"Sometimes I sense feelings, the way a telepath can sense thoughts. Sometimes, though. Not always" Emma explained modestly.

"The most compassionate people you'll ever meet, empathics" the Doctor smiled, "And the loneliest. I mean, exposing themselves to all those hidden feelings, all that guilt, pain and sorrow and"-

Charlotte placed a hand over his mouth. "Shut up" she suggested, before saying to Emma, "As you can see, our friend _isn't_ empathic. Genius when it comes to facts, idiot when it comes to feelings. Again, sorry about this".

Emma smiled and assured her, "That's quite alright", but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. The Doctor realised he'd hurt her feelings, but before he could fumble through a hasty apology, Palmer asked "Would you err, care to have a look?"

The Doctor moved over to the corkboard at once; Emma and his companions followed, curious. It was covered in photographs and notes, like one would see in a detective movie. "Caliburn House is over four hundred years old, but she has been here much longer. The Caliburn Ghast" Palmer explained, as they looked over the myriad of photographs of the ghost. "She's mentioned in local Saxon poetry and parish folk tales; The Wraith of the Lady, the Maiden in the Dark, the Witch of the Well".

"Is she real?" asked Clara, "As in, actually real?"

"She's real" Palmer replied with confidence, "l. In the seventeenth century, a local clergyman saw her. He wrote that her presence was accompanied by a dreadful knocking, as if the Devil himself demanded entry. During the war, American airmen stationed here left offerings of tinned Spam. The tins were found in 1965, bricked up in the servants' pantry, along with a number of handwritten notes. Appeals to the Ghast. 'For the love of God, stop screaming'".

Laura cringed a bit in fear; Charlotte put an arm around her and smiled supportively, having noticed her less than thrilled expression. Clara was rather creeped out as well, but something about the photos had grabbed her attention. "She never changes" Clara realised, comparing the 'ghost' in each shot. "The angle's different, the framing, but she's always in exactly the same position. Why is that?"

"We don't know" Alec admitted, "She's an objective phenomenon, but objective recording equipment can't detect her".

"Without the presence of a powerful psychic" the Doctor finished for him.

Palmer replied, "Absolutely; very well done".

Emma stared at the ghostly images and gasped. "She knows I'm here. I can feel her calling out to me".

"What's she saying?" asked Clara.

"…Help me".

Something whisked past the open doorway; Clara sensed it and looked over her shoulder a bit, but there was nothing there.

The Doctor held the candelabra to the photos, somehow avoiding setting them alight, and murmured "The Witch of the Well. So where's the well?"

"A copy of the oldest plan that we could find" Palmer described, showing the Doctor a sheet laid out on a low table, "There is no well on the property; none that we could find, anyway".

Whilst the Doctor studied the plans of the house, Charlotte, Clara and Laura looked over the photos and talked amongst themselves. "So…what do you think she is?" asked Clara, "Or who, I suppose".

"Well, there's no denying that she's…consistent, at least" Charlotte noted, "But if you ask me, that's just more reason to doubt that she's actually a ghost". She sighed and admitted, "If I'm – we're – being honest…we can't tell you".

Clara looked confused for a moment; then her eyes widened in realisation. Before she could ask if this adventure was another episode her fellow companions had seen, the Doctor tapped her on the head and she jumped. He grinned excitedly at them and whispered, "You coming?"

"Where?" hissed Clara.

"To find the ghost" he replied.

"I'm in" said Charlotte; the alternative would be staying on her own or with strangers in a large, drafty, creepy house. Laura agreed for more or less the same reason.

Clara was less convinced. "Why would I want to do that?" she asked.

"Because you want to" the Doctor insisted, "Come on" he said, starting to leave.

"Well, I dispute that assertion" Clara said stubbornly, staying put.

"Eh? I'm giving you a face" he said, jerking his head towards the door, "Can you see me? Look at my face".

Clara sighed, realising he wasn't going to let up. "Fine" she said, walking up to him, "Dare me".

"I dare you. No takesies backsies" said the Doctor. Clara nodded, and took the candelabra from him. As the four of them left, Emma said "The music room is the heart of the house".

Clara, the Doctor, Laura and Charlotte walked in pairs down the corridor. "Where is the music room?" Laura wondered.

"That's what we're going to find out" the Doctor averred.

"I like Emma, she's nice" Charlotte remarked, "but what is it with psychics and being cryptic?"

"I think it's part of the job description" the Doctor joked, and they chuckled.

"Say we actually find her. What do we say?" asked Clara.

"We ask her how she came to be…whatever she is".

"Why?"

"Because I don't know, and ignorance is, um, what's the opposite of bliss?"

"Carlisle?"

"Yes! Yes, Carlisle. Ignorance is Carlisle" the Doctor agreed. Laura glanced over her shoulder just in time to see…something…slinking into the shadows behind him; she looked away and tried to ignore it. They came to a room, but on further inspection it proved to be a kitchen. They looked around the darkened room, the flickering candlelight and occasional lamp the only source of illumination.

"Why can't we just turn on the lights?" asked Charlotte, "There were lamps on in the living room, so he has electricity".

"Because, that would spoil the atmosphere" the Doctor asked, "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I left it in the TARDIS" she deadpanned.

"I'd like the lights on as well" Laura admitted.

"Look, guys, everything's fine. There's nothing to be scared of".

"There wouldn't be if the lights were on" Charlotte muttered, before sighing, " _Fine_ ".

The Doctor grinned over his shoulder at her. "That's the spirit – speaking of spirits, where are you, ghost?" he wondered aloud, looking forward again, "Here, ghost".

/

They soon found the right room; the large harp was a pretty big giveaway. "Ah, the music room" the Doctor noted, "The heart of the house…Do you feel anything?" he asked them.

"No…" Clara said slowly.

"Your pants are so on fire" the Doctor teased her. He started scanning the room with the sonic, and it stuttered. He bashed it lightly against his palm, trying to get it to work. Clara looked around nervously and whispered, "Do you feel like you're being watched?"

"What does being watched feel like?" the Doctor asked, "Is it that funny, tickly feeling on the back of your neck?"

"That's the chap".

"Then yes, a bit; well, quite a big bit" the Doctor admitted, smiling as if it were fun. Clara heard something creaking, the floorboards perhaps, but she felt like something was there…

"Psst!" Charlotte hissed, beckoning to them, "Check this out". She stepped backwards and breathed out, her breath fogging up.

The Doctor walked over and stepped in the space as well, his own breath becoming visible. "Cold spot, spooky; well done, Charlotte" he smiled at her, stepping back and forth out of the circle. "Cold, warm, cold, warm, cold, warm, cold, warm, cold…"

"We get it, Doctor" said Laura, more amused than annoyed. He stopped and pulled a piece of chalk out of his pocket, kneeling down and drawing a circle around the cold spot.

"Doctor?" whispered Clara, still hearing something creaking, "Doctor!"

"What?"

"I'm not happy".

The Doctor scanned the cold spot and agreed, "No…" – before walking out of the door that the cold spot was in front of.

"Come on, Clara" Laura beckoned to her, and they hurried to catch up with the Time Lord. Charlotte briefly considered getting the Doctor to go back and check out the smoking circle, but she figured he was going to find out about it eventually. The four of them pulled up short in a narrow corridor, at a loud clanging noise that reverberated throughout the house.

"What was that?" asked Clara. The banging happened again, twice, and a sudden breeze blew out the candles. Fortunately, a latticed window nearby meant the darkness wasn't total, and they could just about see each other. Laura shivered and whispered, "Can we light them up again, please?"

The Doctor blew on his hands to try and warm them. "I don't have any matches" he admitted. The temperature was definitely dropping, and ice started to form on the _inside_ of the windows.

 _Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"Okay, what is that?" Clara asked again.

"It's err, a very loud noise" the Doctor informed them, "It's a very loud, very angry noise".

"What's making it?"

"I don't know, are you making it?"

 _Bang! Bang!_

They all flinched. "Whoever's making it, I wish they'd shut up" Charlotte muttered. She felt something in her hand and stiffened. "Laura?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you holding my hand?"

Laura held her empty palms up and shook her head, "No!"

Charlotte looked down and saw that nobody was holding her hand; so what had she felt?

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, the hairs standing on end, and asked "Does anyone else feel like they're being watched again?"

His companions nodded nervously. "Um, maybe we should move on" Laura suggested. The Doctor nodded in agreement, but none of them made any move to, well, move… all eyes turned to the shadowy corridor behind them…

"I don't like this" Charlotte breathed; suddenly there was a flash of lightning outside, and they caught a glimpse of a crouching _thing_ lurking right behind them. It was only a glimpse, because they promptly screamed and ran for it, down the stairs and back to the entrance hall. They arrived just in time to see a concave black disc, gyrating in mid-air.

"Has this happened before?" the Doctor asked, trying to scan it.

"Never" replied Palmer.

"Camera, camera!" the Doctor prompted, taking the professor's camera and snapping pictures of the black disc, which was starting to break apart. Emma wasn't looking at the disc; she stared at the archway, gasping as a vision appeared, a blurry figure in the woods...Clara looked round, noticed the figure and cried, "Doctor!"

They all turned, the Doctor taking pictures of the wailing figure instead. A woman's voice cried, "Help me!" - right before Emma collapsed into Alec and the Doctor's arms.

"Look!" Laura gasped, pointing at the wall. Ghostly writing had appeared, 'HELP ME' written above the staircase. The Doctor approached them to investigate, but they dissolved and the revolving, shattered disc shrank down and vanished.

/

The Doctor went with Palmer to develop the photos he'd taken, whilst his companions stayed with Emma in the living room. Clara poured Emma and herself a glass of whisky to try and calm her nerves; the other two declined; although Emma spat it out in the end. "Urgh" she grimaced, "I'd rather have a nice cup of tea".

"Me too" Clara decided, "Whisky is the eleventh most disgusting thing ever invented".

"What's the first?" Charlotte inquired, half-jokingly.

"Smoking" Clara replied, completely serious. All of them had to nod in agreement to that. Clara busied herself making tea, but she couldn't resist asking, "So, you and Professor Palmer, have you ever…you know?"

Emma sighed a bit. "No" she admitted.

"Why not?" asked Clara, surprised, "You do know how he feels about you, don't you? You, of all people?"

"I don't know" Emma sighed, explaining "People like me, sometimes we get our signals mixed up. We think people are feeling the way we want them to feel, you know, when they are special to us, when really there's nothing there".

"Oh, this is there" Clara nodded confidently, giving her a cup of tea.

"How do you know?"

"Because it's obvious; it sticks out like a big chin" Clara insisted.

"I think he likes you" Laura commented. She knew he did, but of course she couldn't mention that. "You should talk to him about it" she suggested.

Emma looked doubtful. "I'm not sure that would help…I have tried bringing it up, but he's always…too busy".

"Yeah, that's the trouble with men" Charlotte remarked, "It's not that they don't have feelings, it's more like they don't know what to do with them – but hey, think of it this way. If he keeps avoiding the subject, at least that means he's _aware_ of it. Aware of his feelings…and he can't avoid it forever. You just have to be persistent" she smiled encouragingly. Emma smiled back…she could sense that Charlotte and Laura knew more than they were letting on, but she appreciated the encouragement all the same.

"What about…are any of you, and the Doctor…?" she asked cautiously.

Laura and Charlotte shook their heads, as did Clara. "Oh, I don't think so" she denied it at once.

"Good" said Emma, not meeting their eyes.

"Sorry?"

"Don't trust him" Emma warned, "There's a sliver of ice in his heart".

"Yeah, there is" Charlotte agreed at once, before asking pointedly, " _Why_?"

Emma didn't have to be an empathic to tell how Charlotte was feeling. She looked at the young woman apologetically and answered, "It's just what I sense…I don't know why".

"Exactly" Charlotte said bluntly. She walked towards the door; Clara was about to ask her where she was going, when the Doctor called to them from down the hall.

They ran underneath umbrellas, through the driving rain to the TARDIS. "I've got this weird feeling it's looking at me" Clara muttered to the Doctor, "It doesn't like me".

"The TARDIS is like a cat" he assured her, "A bit slow to trust, but you'll get there in the end". He ran up to the TARDIS; Charlotte followed, holding the door open after he'd unlocked it. She could feel it trying to close and gestured, with a jerk of her head, for the other two to hurry up and get inside.

Clara looked around for somewhere to hang the umbrellas. "Hey. You need a place to keep these" she remarked, holding up the red umbrella.

"I've got one" the Doctor replied, "Or I had one. I think I had one. Look around. See if you find it. Did I have one? Am I going mad?"

"You had one" said Charlotte, "And now you don't, and do you really want that last question answered?"

"No" he decided, before noticing Clara shaking the water off the umbrella. "No, not in here" he scolded, "How do you expect her to like you? She's soaking wet. It's a health and safety nightmare".

Clara glanced up at the ceiling and whispered, "Sorry" she whispered, just to be on the safe side. The TARDIS gave a mechanical groan; was it just her imagination or did the box actually sound annoyed? Clara asked, "So, where are we going?"

"Nowhere" the Doctor answered, "We're staying right here. Right here, on this exact spot, if I can work out how to do it".

"That's encouraging" Charlotte quipped; the Doctor ignored her.

"So, _when_ are we going?" asked Clara.

"Oh, that is good" the Doctor grinned, giving her a high five, "That is top-notch".

"And the answer is?"

"We're going always!" he announced, going down a set of steps.

"We're going always" Clara repeated.

"Totally!" he replied.

"That's not actually a sentence" she protested.

"Well, it's got a verb in" the Doctor reasoned, holding up a garish orange environment protection suit. "What do you think?"

"Do we have to wear one?" asked Charlotte.

"No…"

"Then it looks great" she smirked sarcastically.

"Colour's a bit boisterous" Clara remarked.

"I think it brings out my eyes" said the Doctor.

"Makes my eyes hurt" she retorted, and he sighed. At least _he_ liked the colour… the Doctor materialised them and got into his suit, with a little assistance (not much though, he wasn't so un-coordinated that he couldn't put a spacesuit on by himself), and gave his companions strict instructions not to leave the TARDIS. Considering they were billions of years in the past, when the Earth was still molten, none of them disagreed.

The Doctor went out into the burning landscape, took a picture on the Nikon (he'd sonicked it earlier, to increase its durability) and came back inside. "Back off" he warned, waving them away, "Hot suit. Hot, hot, hot" – he wasn't kidding, the suit was literally smoking.

"When are we?" Clara inquired curiously.

"About six billion years ago. It's a Tuesday, I think" the Doctor replied, setting them off again. It was like a Cliff Note's tour of the history of planet Earth – they went to the Carboniferous Era and saw giant dragonflies, all the way through the eons to Victorian times. Caliburn House looked almost inviting in the daylight, and they ended up having a picture taken on the front steps.

Eventually, the Doctor clambered back into the environment suit. "Back in a mo" he said, opening the door, "Are you alright, Clara?"

She looked round and replied, "Totally, peachy keen".

"Okay then. Well, don't press any buttons or pull any levers or make any funny faces. Actually, don't move. Stand completely still. Don't breathe. Well, you can breathe, but shallow breaths" the Doctor rambled. Clara raised an eyebrow slightly and gave him a thumbs up, in more of a 'sure, whatever you say' kind of way. The Doctor returned the gesture and then left, shutting the door behind him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" asked Laura, as Clara walked over to the scanner.

"Yeah, fine" she replied distractedly. It was a wasteland outside, reddened and scorched, rubble on the ground and a burning sun hanging in the orange sky. Charlotte found herself wondering if the landscape reminded the Doctor of Gallifrey, during the War… she couldn't wait until they got to the _Day of the Doctor,_ if they stuck around that long.

Clara sighed sadly, at the sight of the devastation. The Doctor came back inside, pulling off his helmet and walking up to the console. He noticed Clara's expression as she stared at the scanner and asked, "What's wrong?"

She didn't answer.

"Did the TARDIS say something to you?" he guessed, slapping a glove on the console and asking the machine, "Are you being mean?"

"No, it's not that" said Clara, not wanting to get on the apparently sentient time-ship's bad side even more. "Have we just watched the entire life cycle of Earth, birth to death?"

"Yes".

"And you're okay with that?" she asked incredulously, "All of you?"

"…Yes…" the Doctor replied slowly. Laura and Charlotte simply shrugged.

"How can you be?"

"I don't like to see the Earth die, either" said Laura, "but…well, everything dies, eventually".

"Yeah, and coming from where we do, it kind of gives us a different perspective" added Charlotte.

Clara supposed that knowing what would happen, even a little bit, would make one see things in a different light. She looked at the Doctor expectantly, wanting an answer from him as well. He gestured at the time machine they were standing in. "The TARDIS, she's _time_ – we -wibbley vortex, and so on" he rambled, trying to articulate a reply and failing.

"That's not what I mean".

"Okay, some help" he prompted, "Context? Cheat sheet? Something?"

"I mean, one minute you're in 1974 looking for ghosts, but all you have to do is open your eyes and talk to whoever's standing there. To you, we haven't been born yet, and to you we've been dead one hundred billion years. I don't know about Charlotte and Laura, but is my body out there somewhere, in the ground?" asked Clara, gesturing at the scanner.

"Yes, I suppose it is" the Doctor admitted, not really wanting to talk about it. He went to put his suit away.

"But here we are, talking. So I am a ghost. To you, I'm a ghost" Clara stated, and he stopped at the top of the steps. "We're all ghosts to you. We must be nothing".

"No" the Doctor told her over his shoulder, "No, you're not that".

"Then what are we?" she demanded, "What can we possibly be?"

The Doctor stopped at the bottom of the steps and told her, "You are the only mystery worth solving". On that confusing note, he left to take off his suit and stow it away.

Clara wandered back over to her friends, and asked "What do you think he means, mystery?"

"Dunno" Charlotte shrugged.

"Are you saying that because you don't know, or because you can't tell me?"

"Don't feel bad, Clara" Laura deflected the conversation, "You are important to the Doctor. We all are".

"I know" Clara acknowledged, "It's just…the way he looks at me sometimes, it's like he's not really seeing me at all".

Laura didn't know what to say, so she just settled for giving Clara a hug. The Doctor returned and they went back to Caliburn House, 21st century. Emma picked up on Clara's sadness straight away; she placed a comforting hand on Clara's shoulder and asked gently, "What's wrong?"

"I just saw something I wish I hadn't".

"What did you see?"

"That everything ends…"

"No, not everything" Emma assured her, looking wistfully over at Alec, "Not love. Not always".


	14. Chapter 14 - Hide Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Hide – Part Two

"Right, done, that's it" the Doctor announced, beckoning for them to come and see the presentation he'd put together, "Gather round, gather round. Roll up, roll up". He activated the projector and slides of the ghost appeared on the board. "The Ghast of Caliburn House. Never changing, trapped in a moment of fear and torment. But, what if she's not? What if she's just trapped somewhere time runs more slowly than it does here? What if a second to her was a hundred thousand years to us?

"And what if somebody has a magic box? A blue box, probably. What if said somebody could take a snapshot of her, say, every few million years?" he asked rhetorically; well, to Emma and Alec at least. The ghostly, overlaid images solidified and clarified into an image of a black woman in a white suit, running through a forest with an expression of fear on her face. "She's not a ghost" the Doctor continued, "But she's definitely a lost soul. Her name is Hila Tacorian. She's a pioneer, a time traveller, or at least she will be in a few hundred years".

"Time travel's not possible" Palmer protested immediately, "The paradoxes" -

"Resolve themselves, by and large".

"How long has she been alone?" asked Emma, ever compassionate.

"Well, time travel's a funny old thing. I mean, from her perspective, she crash landed three minutes ago".

"Crash landed? Where?"

"She's in a pocket universe. A distorted echo of our own. They happen sometimes but never last for long" the Doctor explained, blowing up a blue balloon and then a red one. "Our universe" he held up the blue, "Hila Tacorian's here, in a pocket universe", he held up the red one, "You're a lantern, shining across the dimensions, guiding her home, back to the land of the living" the Doctor told Emma, bringing the red balloon over to the blue and then letting them both shrivel up.

"But what's she running from?" Clara questioned.

"Well, that's the best bit. We don't know yet. Shall we see?" the Doctor suggested brightly. In the next shot, Hila had almost passed out of sight, but they could make out a blurry, strange, gnarled creature lurking behind a tree in the background. "Oh…"

"Eugh!" Laura pulled a face, "I don't blame her for running from that!"

"Well, it might be friendly" Charlotte offered with a shrug; then she looked at the creature again and said "But that's unlikely".

"What is it?" asked Clara.

"I don't know" the Doctor admitted, "Still, not to worry!" he added brightly.

"So, what do we do?" asked Emma.

"Not we, you" the Doctor stated, and all eyes turned to Emma, "You save Hila Tacorian because you are Emma Grayling. You are the lantern. The rest of us are just along for the ride, I'm afraid" he told her, before clapping his hands and declaring "We need some sturdy rope and a blue crystal from Metebelis Three; plus some Kendal Mint Cake".

"What's the cake for?" asked Charlotte as they hurried back to the TARDIS, the rain having thankfully dried up.

"You'll see".

"Alright, fine".

Inside the TARDIS, Clara inquired "Can't you just…you know?"

"What?"

"Fly the TARDIS into the parallel universe".

"Ah, it's not a parallel universe" the Doctor called up from where he was rummaging in a storage compartment, "It's a pocket universe. Plus, it is collapsing". He pulled a crystal out and slipped it inside his pocket before getting up. "I mean, the Tardis could get in there all right, but entropy would bleed her power sources, you see? Trap her there until the entire universe decayed back into the quantum foam. Which would take about three minutes, give or take, you know".

With the Doctor's direction, his companions helped lay a trail of glowing cables from the TARDIS to Caliburn House, into the music room, which was filled with clocks. The cables led up to a doohickey the Doctor had put together, with a lightly glowing blue crystal cradled at head height. "What is that?" wondered Clara, reaching up to touch it, only to have the Doctor slap her hand away.

"Subset of the Eye of Harmony" the Doctor replied as he calibrated it (or perhaps he was just fiddling with it, they couldn't tell).

"I don't" –

"Of course you don't" he interrupted, "Be weird if you did. I barely do myself. Right, you, sit down" he said to Emma, guiding her over to the chair and the crystal. "All the way from Metebelis Three" he announced, picking up a headset with a darker blue stone embedded in it, and placed it on Emma's head.

"What does it do?" she wondered.

"It amplifies your natural abilities" the Doctor explained, scanning the room with his sonic, "like a microphone, or a pooper scooper".

"What exactly _is_ this arrangement?" Palmer questioned.

"A psycho-chronograph".

"Forgive me, but isn't it all a bit well, make-do and mend?"

Clara and Laura helped the Doctor strap into a parachute harness, minus the parachute. "Non-psychic technology won't work where I'm going" he explained, "Listen, all I need to do is dive into another dimension, find the time traveller, help her escape the monster, get home before the entire dimension collapses and Bob's your uncle".

"Oh, well when you put it like that it sounds easy" Charlotte said sarcastically.

"Doctor…will it hurt?" Emma asked nervously.

"No" he told her quietly, before admitting, "Well, yes, probably, a bit. Well, quite a lot. I don't know. It might be agony. To be perfectly honest, I'll be interested to find out".

"Doctor" Laura said reproachfully, "You're scaring her".

"Oh…sorry" he said apologetically.

"It's fine" Emma brushed it off. She looked at Alec for comfort, and he nodded encouragingly, believing in her. Emma took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I'm talking to the lost soul that abides in this place. I'm speaking to Hila Tacorian" she declared, the blue Metebelis stone glowing.

All the clocks in the room began to run backwards, and the Doctor clipped a length of rope to the parachute harness he was wearing. Emma gasped and winced as the black disc from earlier appeared, spinning and shattering into a blinding white void in the doorway ahead of her. The Doctor shouted over the rushing wind of the portal, "See? The Witch of the Well! It's a wormhole! A reality well! A door to the echo universe! Ready?" he asked Emma.

"Ready!" she shouted back.

He cracked his neck, muttered, "Geronimo…" – and jumped into the reality well, falling down and down as the rope spun out on the winch.

"Doctor!" Clara cried out worriedly, fearing for his safety. She almost tried to follow him but Palmer held her back.

"He's fine, he'll be fine!" Charlotte reassured her; Clara calmed down a bit at that. After all, Charlotte and Laura had seen this happen before, so they would know if anything bad was going to happen to the Doctor…

/

His descent stopped and the Doctor dropped down into the echo universe, pulling off his harness. He picked a random direction and ran forwards, only to come to the edge of the universe – literally, the world beneath his feet was crumbling into an abyss. This wasn't good. He turned and ran in the other direction, calling out for the lost time traveller. "Hila? Hila! Hila Tacorian!"

The Doctor stopped suddenly, hearing a scratching, rustling noise and remembered – they weren't alone in here. He could hear it scuttling, the trees echoing the sound so it appeared to be everywhere at once. By the way the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up, the creature was sneaking up behind him. He braced himself to turn around and face it, murmuring "One…two…three!"

He spun around, but there was nothing there – then a scared voice cut through the silence. "Help me! Help!" Hila shouted; his hearing, being sharper than most, figured out the direction she was in and headed off that way; only to almost run into her as she emerged from the mist. The Doctor grabbed her hand. "Hila Tacorian, I presume".

"Who are you?" Hila asked, pulling her hand out of his grasp and panting.

"Collapsing universe" the Doctor replied impatiently, "You and me, dead, two minutes. No time complete sentences. Abandon planet".

"Wait – there's something in the mist" she tried to warn him.

"Then run" he advised, "Run!"

They ran. The Doctor heard Emma's voice calling out and followed it, hoping to find the harness and the wormhole…not that he couldn't have found it himself, he had an excellent sense of direction…

"Doctor! Doctor! Come home! Doctor, come home!"

He and Hila ran to the edge of the world, pursued by the monster in the shadows, and the Doctor frantically tried to get his bearings. "Not that way, which means, err, probably…" he ran off in another direction and Hila followed, mostly because she had no idea where else to go.

"What's wrong?"

"You know that exit I mentioned?"

"Yes?"

"I seem to have misplaced it!" he admitted. They stopped in a clearing, trying to spot whatever was stalking or chasing them…they backed into each other and jumped.

"Doctor!" shouted a distant voice.

"This way" he decided, heading off with Hila close behind.

"Doctor, come home!" Emma cried, holding a hand out towards the portal as if wanting to pull them back herself. Clara, Laura and Charlotte felt sorry for her; keeping the portal open and communicating through it was clearly no walk in the park, and they couldn't do anything except watch and hope she didn't crumble under the strain. Clara looked at Alec and saw that he was staring, not at the portal, but at the woman he loved. _He'd better tell her the truth after all this is over_ she thought to herself.

"Doctor, we're here!" Emma's voice called through the mist; up ahead, the ghostly image of a familiar manor appeared. The Doctor couldn't help but be impressed. "Whoa".

"What is that?"

"An echo house in an echo universe" he explained, "Clever psychic, oh that is just top notch".

"Doctor! Doctor!"

They hurried inside the house and the Doctor locked the doors with a piece of red twine. The creature that had followed them there began scratching and clawing at the wood outside. "It's looking for a way in" the Time Lord realised. The creature banged on the door. He pulled Hila away, through the halls to the music room. If the portal was anywhere, it would be there.

In the actual music room, Emma was struggling. "I'm not strong enough!" she shouted.

"Just a few more seconds!" Clara urged her.

"Hold on!" cried Laura. Emma threw her head back and screamed; the pain in her head was near-unbearable…

The Doctor and Hila found the portal and the harness in a room full of statuary. "Grab the rope. Give it three tugs, quick as you like" he instructed, using the sonic to try and lock the door.

"What about you?" she asked even as she shrugged on the harness.

"I'll be next" he said, undoing his bowtie and using it to tie the door shut when the sonic wouldn't work. _I really need to invent a wood setting...why haven't I already?_

Hila tugged on the rope three times; back in the real universe, Palmer noticed the tugs and began cranking the winch back. A female figure staggered out of the portal with a cry of alarm, falling to her knees and breathing hard.

In the pocket universe, the Doctor managed to secure the door and headed for the portal. He heard a furious pounding noise and realised, "Oh, that's what that noise was. Lovely".

He made to jump into the portal, but it flashed bright and started to fade…

Emma slid off the chair onto her knees, energy spent, and the wormhole vanished. "No!" cried Clara – they couldn't give up now, the Doctor was still trapped! They couldn't just leave him there!

The Doctor stepped forward and found himself back in the woods, with the creature, his bow tie lying on the ground. He slowly knelt to pick it up. "Oh dear…oh dear…where are you?"

"Wake up" Clara demanded Emma, as Alec cradled her, "Wake up! Open the thing!"

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be sorry" Alec soothed her, "Don't be. What you did-!"

"Wasn't enough, she needs to do it again" Clara insisted.

"She can't, look at her!" he protested.

"She has to! We can't leave him!"

"Clara, calm down!" Laura admonished; she and Charlotte stepping forward to break up the argument. Clara jumped to her feet and stared at them.

"You said he'd be fine!"

"Yeah, cos we're gonna rescue him…somehow" Charlotte asserted. "Come on!"

The three of them ran out of the room, back to the TARDIS. They could hear the Cloister Bell tolling from here. Alec held Emma's face in his hands, looked her right in the eyes and told her, "I know that you feel you can't do this, Emma, but look at that woman over there. You saved her. She's only here because of your strength, and so am I" he confessed.

/

Clara reached the TARDIS first; she tugged on the handles, but the doors wouldn't budge. "Oh, come on!" she cried in frustration. Laura and Charlotte attempted to tug open and unlock the doors, to no avail. "Let us in, you grumpy old cow!" Clara snapped, in no mood for the time machine's stubbornness. They heard a crackling noise and turned to see…another Clara, staring at them impassively. The real Clara summed it up quite nicely – " _Whoa"._

"Um, could you let us in, please?" asked Laura. Clara looked at her in surprise and inquired, "What's this now?"

"The Tardis Voice Visual Interface" replied the hologram of Clara. "I'm programmed to select the image of a person you esteem. Of several billion such images in my databanks, this one best meets the criterion" she, or rather the TARDIS, explained.

Needless to say, the real Clara wasn't happy at the insinuation. "Oh! Oh, you are a cow, I knew it! Whatever, you have to help the Doctor".

"The Doctor is in the pocket universe" holo-Clara stated.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and if you enter it the entropy will bleed your power sources and you'll be dead in ten seconds, we know" Charlotte interjected, "You're still going to help us save him".

Holo-Clara looked at her sharply and inquired, "How do you know that?"

 _You just told me_ Charlotte was tempted to say; instead she said bluntly, "Because you love him…also because if he dies, so do you, and he will if we don't do something so you might as well take the risk".

There was a pause, and the hologram vanished. Charlotte crossed her fingers, hoping she'd gotten through to the TARDIS...she heaved a sigh of relief when the lock clicked and the door swung open. The three of them hurried inside, and Clara looked over the array of controls. "What do we do?" she wondered.

"Just a guess, pull this lever and hold on tight" Charlotte surmised. They all gripped the dematerialisation lever and pulled it down, clinging on for dear life. The TARDIS rocked about worse than ever, free falling through a gap in dimensions in a way that made them all hope their lunches weren't about to make an appearance.

/

Meanwhile, the Doctor was running through the woods, hopelessly lost and with an unidentified alien stalking him. Ah well, he'd been in worst situations…but this one was definitely up there. "Doctor!" he heard Emma call for him again, "Doctor, we're here!"

The echo house faded into view, and he ran for it. "Emma!"

He heard the beast in the woods scuttling around him, and he spun around in every direction trying to spot it, hearing it snarl. "What do you want?" he demanded, "To frighten me, I suppose, eh? Because that's what you do. You hide. You're the bogeyman under the bed, seeking whom you may devour".

Deep, throaty, menacing chuckling echoed through the trees. Something was sneaking up on him… "Agh!" he cried, spinning around only to find nothing there. There was _something_ there, lurking… "You want me to be afraid" he realised, "Then well done. I am the Doctor… and I am afraid".

The creature still hadn't attacked him. "So why am I still here, huh? Why not just eat me? Ha? Come on. Because you still need me" the Doctor realised. The gnarled, skeletal creature crept out from behind a tree. "Yeah, you need me to piggyback you across. To which I say, come on then, big boy, chase me" he challenged, turning and running towards where the echo house had been.

Before he could get there, the creature – which looked even more hideous close up – came out of nowhere and slammed into his side, sending him flying. It's bony carapace rattled as it loomed over the Doctor; then, miraculously, the TARDIS appeared and flew down, knocking the creature aside. It spun around and came back; the Doctor scrambled to his feet and ran towards it, jumping and grabbing on to the edge.

The TARDIS used Emma's telepathic trace to pull herself out of the pocket universe, just in the nick of time. The Doctor let go of the side, breathing heavily and very happy to be back in the proper universe. He gave Clara a high five as she emerged, breathless, from the TARDIS and went to check on a very overwhelmed Emma. "It's okay" he assured her, smiling to see that it was daylight outside.

/

"You wanted a word?" Emma asked the Doctor, who was leaning against the door of Caliburn House.

"Well, it that's"-

"That's fine" Emma answered, before saying, "You didn't come here for the ghost, did you?"

"No".

"You came here for me".

"Yes".

"Why?"

"I needed to ask you something".

"Then ask" Emma prompted.

"Clara".

"Yes?"

"What is she?"

"She's a girl" Emma replied, confused.

"Yes, but what kind of girl, specifically?"

"She's a perfectly ordinary girl. Very pretty, very clever, more scared than she lets on".

"And that's it, is it?"

"Why? Is that not enough?" Emma questioned. Before the Doctor could reply, a throat cleared behind him. He turned to see Charlotte, scuffing a trainer on the floor and looking past him towards Emma. "What's wrong?" the empath asked kindly.

Charlotte bit her lip and replied "I just wanted to say I'm sorry…not for what I said, exactly, but for how I said it. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings" she apologised.

Emma smiled and replied, "Apology accepted. You were right, anyway…it wasn't fair for me to jump to conclusions" she admitted.

The Doctor looked between Charlotte and Emma in confusion, wondering what they were talking about. "What ha"-

"It's fine" Emma assured him before he could finish, "Charlotte and I just had a…slight disagreement earlier".

"Yeah, don't worry your adorable head about it" Charlotte grinned cheekily, patting the Doctor patronisingly on the head. She laughed at his disgruntled frown and kissed him on the cheek, before waving at Emma and going back to join Laura and Clara outside.

"She really cares about you, you know" Emma told the Doctor after Charlotte had left.

"She's got a funny way of showing it" he grumbled.

Emma hesitated, and then admitted "When you first arrived, I wasn't sure if I should trust you. I knew straight away that you were a liar, and I could sense a…a darkness, a coldness in you, just under the surface" she revealed. She could also now feel the guilt the Doctor experienced, at the reminder of that darkness, and continued, "When I told your friends what I sensed, Charlotte asked me 'why?'. It reminded me that I didn't know where that darkness came from…I didn't know what you'd been through".

"A lot" the Doctor quipped; inside, though, he was touched that Charlotte had stood up for him…even if he didn't think he deserved it. He and Emma went outside, meeting the others outside the TARDIS. The Doctor walked up to Charlotte and hugged her; surprised at first, she quickly got over it and happily hugged him back, then opened an arm to make it a group hug with Laura and Clara as well.

Emma smiled to see them reconcile, and turned to hug Hila goodbye. "Where will you go?" she asked the young woman, who answered, "He can't take me home. History says I went missing".

"But he can change history".

"No, no, no, I can't, actually" the Doctor interrupted, "There are fixed points in time, you see"-

"Hi" Clara cut in as well, tugging the Doctor away. "What?" he asked, confused. Was it something he'd said?

"I knew you were there" Hila told Emma, "I could feel you".

"I know" Emma nodded.

"Have we…?"

"We can't have" Emma shook her head, "You haven't even been born yet".

"No, you can't have met but she can be your great, great, great, great, great granddaughter" the Doctor came back to reveal, adding to a shocked Palmer, "Yours too, of course. But you guessed that already, didn't you?" he asked, only to realise that Emma, Alec and Hila were staring at him in bewilderment. "Oh…Apparently not" he muttered… Charlotte and Laura face-palmed.

"The paradoxes…" Alec tried to protest, disbelieving.

"Resolve themselves, by and large" the Doctor repeated, before explaining, "That's why the psychic link was so powerful. Blood calling to blood, out of time. Not everything ends. Not love. Not always" he said, heading towards the TARDIS.

"Doctor, what about – what about us?" asked Alec, "Emma and me".

"What about you?"

"Well, what's supposed to happen? I mean, what do we do now?"

"Hold hands" the Doctor told him, "That's what you're meant to do. Keep doing that and don't let go. That's the secret" he told them. Emma and Alec looked at each other and smiled, reaching out to hold hands…satisfied, the Doctor made to enter the TARDIS, but a sudden flashback made him stop dead in his tracks.

" _Doctor! I'm not happy"._

 _"Yeah, you need me to piggyback you across"._

" _I'm not holding your hand!"_

He slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Oh, I'm so slow! I am slow. I'm notorious for it. That's always been my problem. But, but I get there in the end, oh yes" he told the others, all of whom (with two exceptions) were rather confused.

"Doctor…?" Clara asked hesitantly.

He pointed at her and inquired, "How do sharks make babies?"

"…Carefully…"

"No, no, no - happily!" he replied.

Clara frowned and pointed out "Sharks don't actually smile. They're just, well, they've got lots and lots of teeth. They're quite eaty".

"Exactly" the Doctor agreed, heading back towards the house, "But birds do it, bees do it, even educated fleas do it. Every lonely monster needs a companion" he finished, looking up at a window of the house.

"There's two of them" Clara realised, seeing another one of the skeletal creatures peering out of the window.

"It's the oldest story in the universe, this one or any other. Boy and girl fall in love, get separated by events. War, politics, accidents in time. She's thrown out of the hex, or he's thrown into it" the Doctor rambled, slinging an arm around Clara's shoulders, "Since then they've been yearning for each other across time and space, across dimensions. This isn't a ghost story, it's a love story!" he smiled…then he realised he'd put his arm around her and pulled away, embarrassed. "Sorry".

He ran back to Hila, Emma and Palmer, who were talking about what they would do next. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt the rest of your life" he said, turning to Emma, "So…Tiny favour to ask".

Ten minutes later, and he was back in the pocket universe. "I'm sorry!" he called out to the creature, "I understand now! I can take you to her! I can take you to a safe place far away from here! You can be together! Well, come on, then. She's waiting!" he shouted…the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he turned to see the twisted, malformed monster right behind him. "Well, hello again, you old Romeo, you" he greeted, trying not to grimace at the sight, "Now, here she comes" he said at the sound of the TARDIS, "Get ready to jump".


	15. Chapter 15 - Missing Home

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who (or the Matrix, or anything else I mention in passing)

Missing Home

Charlotte woke up, to the sound of birdsong…for a moment she was reluctant to leave the warmth of her bed, but then she wondered how she was hearing birdsong aboard the TARDIS. She opened her eyes and sat up...and stared. Her bedcovers were not white and strewn with butterflies, but striped shades of blue. There was no star shaped button above her bedside table, and she knew the large, square, curtained window hadn't been there before…

Dazed, Charlotte sat on the edge of her bed. Had the TARDIS altered her bedroom whilst she slept? Was this some kind of prank? Or was it…Charlotte stared at the blue curtains, and the slivers of sunlight shining on either side. Could it be…could she be home?

It had been very warm that day…maybe she'd got heatstroke; maybe going to the Whoniverse and meeting the Doctor was all a delirium induced dream. _That makes sense_ Charlotte thought vaguely, _I was dreaming. That sort of thing only happens in fanfics…_

Feeling as if she was sleepwalking, Charlotte rose from her bed and shuffled up to the curtains. She pulled them aside and blinked at the light…yes, there it was, the green fence and the shed, nice and familiar. Her sleep-sluggish brain suddenly remembered her family! They'd be so thrilled to see her awake.

There was no-one in her mum's bedroom; although oddly, she couldn't remember walking upstairs, but she must have done. There was no-one in her sister's room either. What time was it? Two o'clock…they must have both been at work. Ah, but there was one person who would still be here, her grandmother! Charlotte hurried downstairs and into her grandmother's little annex…but it too was deserted.

Confused, she searched the house from top to bottom, and tried to call her mum's mobile. It went to ringtone. She tried her sister, her brother, her grandmother and even her dad…he answered, much to her relief. "Hello?"

"Hi Dad, I just woke up and I can't find any"-

"Who is this?"

"W-what?" asked Charlotte, confused, "Dad, it's me, Charlotte!"

"Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"What? Joke?"

"I don't know who you are" her dad said angrily, "but you do not _prank call_ me in the middle of my daughter's wake and pretend to be her!"

" _What?_ Dad, I'm not dead! Dad!" Charlotte cried, but it was no good – he'd hung up. What the heck was going on? Why did her dad think she'd died? Charlotte's mind raced, and not with nice possibilities. Perhaps she'd been unconscious for longer than she thought, and her dad's mind had started to go. He had sounded older, more tired, on the phone.

She had a sudden epiphany – Laura! Surely she could help, they were best friends to the end, after all. Charlotte phoned Laura, and after the fifth try, her friend finally picked up. "Laura, it's me, Charlotte - you have to believe me!"

"I believe you – Charlotte, I can't find my mum and dad" Laura said worriedly.

"I called my dad, and he thought…he thought I was an imposter! He thinks I'm dead!"

"What? Why?"

"I don't know…listen, I'm still in my pyjamas. Let me get dressed"-

Her sentence never finished; the next thing she knew, she was standing outside Laura's house. How had she gotten here? Oh, never mind that – she rapped on the door, shouting for Laura…the reply she received chilled her to the core. " _Human intruder detected!_ "

That was a Dalek! Charlotte panicked, and ran up the street; she'd not gone half-way before the front of Laura's house was blown out and reduced to rubble. Horrified, she watched as a Dalek floated out of the gap it had made, and swivelled to face her. _How can it be here?! A Dalek can't be here!_ She thought frantically.

The terrifying creature aimed it's weapon at her. " _Exterminate!"_

Charlotte screamed.

/

"AAAH!" she shrieked, sitting bolt upright in bed. Tears on her face, white covers rumpled…white? Yes, and there were little star holograms around her, and no window, and a low humming that was annoying and comforting all at once. Charlotte kicked off her duvet and scrambled out of bed, running to the door and flinging it open. Another door, with an owl carved onto it, stood opposite hers.

She opened it and stole inside the darkened room, tiptoeing up to the bed. "Laura? Psst, Laura? Wake up!" she hissed, shaking the mound beneath the covers. Laura moaned sleepily, and reached out to switch her lamp on, rubbing her eyes. "Huh? Charlotte?"

"Oh, thank goodness" Charlotte sagged in relief, "I thought you…I had a nightmare. C-can I…stay with you?"

"Sure" Laura agreed at once, rolling over to make room. Charlotte lay down in the vacated, still warm space and switched the light off. Laura dozed off again almost immediately, but it was a while before Charlotte did. That nightmare, she remembered now…was familiar. She'd had it before.

That morning, she was half-asleep whilst eating breakfast; it took all of her willpower to lift the spoon to her lips. "Bad night, Charlotte?" the Doctor asked sympathetically. She just shrugged, not wanting to talk about it.

"Didn't you have a nightmare?" Laura recalled, "What was it about?"

Charlotte hesitated…she had a pretty good idea of what the dream was about, but she really didn't want to talk about it. So she just muttered, "Daleks" and shrugged again. Laura gave her a hug in sympathy, but Charlotte only felt a little better.

The Doctor tried to help by providing a distraction. "So for today, how does exploring a labyrinth sound?" he suggested, before assuring them, "I can promise there won't be any Minotaurs or fears hidden behind doors in this one".

"Where is it?" Laura asked curiously; the still exhausted Charlotte was less enthusiastic, but she raised her head to listen. The Doctor explained, "The Caves of Malisthe on the planet Yrcnosthre, it's a"-

"The what of what?" Charlotte asked dazedly.

"Ma-lis-thee" he spelt it out, "The Caves of Malisthe, legendary hero of Yrcnosthre…it's harder to spell out".

"It sounds like you're saying, 'yer-rick-nose-three'" Charlotte smirked, "What sort of a name for a planet is that?"

"What about you lot? Naming your planet 'Earth' when it's 71% water?"

"Well, _your_ planet's name translates to 'they that walk in the shadows'" Charlotte retorted, "What does that even _mean_?"

"I have no idea" the Doctor deflected quickly, "So anyway, the Caves are, well, caves – a series of caverns that have apparently remained unexplored for centuries. Well, they _were_ explored at one point I'm sure, but apparently the last person who went in and came out went mad".

"They did? Oh, that sounds alarming. Are you sure this is a good idea?" Laura asked nervously.

"Oh, don't worry about that, Laura. So long as we stick together and take torches with us, we should be fine" the Doctor declared confidently, before asking Charlotte, "Are you on board?"

She opened her mouth to reply, and had to quickly cover it as a huge yawn stretched her jaw. "Going into a series of dark and foreboding caves from which people emerge maddened and that could be home to any manner of strange and dangerous creatures? Sure, why not?"

"Great; and really, don't be so worried. The whole 'going mad' thing is just a rumour. According to legend, the Caves contain your greatest desires. I've no idea how that's possible, but I can't wait to find out" the Doctor said eagerly. They cleared away the dishes, Charlotte and Laura showered and dressed. They made sure to put on warm clothes, since it was bound to be rather cold in the caves.

Despite being named after a legendary hero, who had apparently ventured into the caves to rescue his one true love, the caves didn't look all that impressive at first glance. There were spider-webs stretched in the corners of the entrance; Laura tried very hard not to look at the jet black, eight legged creepy crawlies in the middle of them, or the dead flies hanging in webbing. The words 'Caves of Malisthe' were carved in the rock above the first opening, but the rock had weathered and the words were now barely legible.

"Has it occurred to us that they might have had a good reason for abandoning this place?" Charlotte wondered.

The Doctor handed them both torches and replied, "They might have done…let's go find out what it is, eh?"

Taking care not to slip on the damp rock (it had been raining), the three of them walked in single file through the caves. The floor sloped downwards, just enough to be noticeable, and as they descended further into the ground Charlotte felt her heartrate pick up. She took deep breaths, firmly telling herself to calm down. There was nothing to be afraid of, they hadn't gotten lost or been separated…she just couldn't seem to shake the eerie feeling that something else was down here with them.

It wasn't long before they emerged into a larger cavern, with crystalline stalactites hanging down from the ceiling. Any fears were driven from Charlotte and Laura's minds, as they stared with fascination at the shiny, icicle like structures. "It looks like quartz" Charlotte commented, "But I thought that wasn't soluble".

"It isn't, and this isn't quartz. It's a very similar looking mineral known as quatrilime, a combination of the properties of quartz and limestone" the Doctor explained.

"These are called…stalactites, right?" Laura checked, "I never used to be able to remember the difference".

"Oh, that's easy" Charlotte said dismissively, "Stalactite has a 'c' for ceiling, and stalagmite has a 'g' for ground, that's how I remember it". She wandered around the cavern, shining her torch over the rocks which were damp with water. Actually, when she looked closer it looked almost like slime. Something on the wall of the cave caught her eye, and she went for a closer look. What she found sent a shiver up her spine; someone had scratched out the words 'RUN OR YOU WILL DIE'.

 _Well, that's creepy_ she thought; she felt something drip onto her head from above. Charlotte reached up to wipe the water away, only to feel something sticky…confused, she looked up to see what had dripped onto her.

Attached to the ceiling were mucus covered, rocky hand-like creatures, that chilled the blood in her veins. Dream Crabs.

For a few seconds she was frozen in horror; she managed to tear her gaze away at last, and swore mentally. _Oh shit! Err, don't look at them, don't think about them, think about something else. Err, bananas. Bananas are good. What can you make with bananas? Banoffee pie, banana split, uh, banana daiquiri, I wonder what that tastes like, maybe I'd like it, probably not since I don't like alcohol, but maybe I should try it, I think I'll ask if we can go and try some, good idea Charlotte, wait why am I thinking in third person?_

"Can we go?" she asked suddenly, "I'm bored. Caves are boring. Can we go get some banana daiquiris? I've never had one before but I kind of want to try it. Do they actually taste like bananas? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Charlotte, are you okay?" the Doctor asked in concern.

"Yeah!" she said quickly, "Course I am, why wouldn't I be? I just changed my mind, it's allowed. Let's just go please, now preferably".

"Is everything alright?" Laura asked, frowning at Charlotte worriedly.

Agitated and frustrated, Charlotte snapped "Damn it! There are Dream Crabs here! You're making me think about them and they're going to wake up and kill us and we are _leaving!_ Now!" she shouted, grabbing Laura's hand and dragging her towards the tunnel they'd come down. There was no way she was about to let a bunch of brain eating parasites attack her and her best friend. The two of them made a break for it, running for the tunnel when the Doctor cried out, "Charlotte!"

Something heavy dropped onto her head, two claws dangled in front of her face. Charlotte froze, terrified and disgusted, and screamed.

/

"AAA- huh?!" she gasped, jerking awake. She was in her room, her proper room, not on the TARDIS but safe at home, and for a moment all her disoriented brain could think was ' _Oh, not again'._

Then her dad burst into the room and derailed her thoughts again, as well as making her jump out of her skin. "What's wrong?" he demanded worriedly, "I heard screaming".

His daughter stared at him in complete bewilderment. "Dad?! How can – you – I – h-how did I get here?"

"Get where?"

Someone came running, and her mum came into the room, eyes wide and searching. "What happened? What's the matter?"

Charlotte's chest heaved; she closed her eyes and did her best to calm down, feeling like she was about to hyperventilate. "I…I'm at home. I was somewhere else, though, I…I was in a cave. With Laura and, and…I can't remember. There was someone else there…" she frowned, unable to think straight. Her thoughts were jumbled, her memories fuzzy, and there was a dull ache in her right temple.

"Did you have a nightmare?" her dad asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Charlotte grasped at the few clear memories she had and replied, "Yeah, I…I dreamt you thought I'd d-died and been replaced with, like, an imposter or something".

"Oh, that will never happen, darling" Mike reassured her, pulling her in for a hug. His wife Sue joined in as well, and Charlotte clung to them as if they might disappear at any moment.

"Did you forget your dad was coming to visit this weekend?" her mum asked as they pulled apart. Charlotte hesitated, and then nodded.

"Come on then, up you get. We're having croissants for breakfast, yum" Mike said cheerfully, standing up. "After you've got dressed, why don't we go for a walk in the caves?"

"The what?"

"The beach, why don't we go for a walk on the beach" Mike repeated.

"Oh, right, I thought you…yeah, that sounds great. Can we go shopping together, mum?"

"Of course we can! I was planning on going into town later with Lucy, you can come along if you want".

"Is Lucy here?" asked Charlotte, getting out of bed and pulling her dressing gown on.

"She's just in the kitchen" said Sue. Charlotte left her bedroom and went straight to the kitchen, where her little sister was stirring a glass of chocolate milk. "Morning…uh, what are you doing?" she asked, when Charlotte came and hugged her.

"Sorry" Charlotte apologised, letting go, "I just…" her mind went blank, "It doesn't matter".

"No, tell me".

"I can't remember…hang on, I need some paracetamol. I'm getting an awful headache" Charlotte complained, rubbing her temple. She went to the medicine cabinet and took out a packet of Ibuprofen. The words on the packet read 'This is a dream'.

She dropped the packet in surprise, blinked, and looked again. The words were back to normal. Confused, Charlotte took two capsules and carried them back to the kitchen. She turned on the tap to fill a glass with water, but instead this strange mucus emerged from the faucet. "Eugh!" she exclaimed, flicking the tap off again.

"What's wrong?" asked Lucy, sitting by the table.

"Something's wrong with the water" answered Charlotte, turning the tap on again. A stream of clear, clean water ran out into the sink. Lucy stared at it, and then at Charlotte.

"Wrong with the water?" she asked sceptically.

"But it was…oh, I am losing it. I sure hope these pills work fast" Charlotte commented, filling a cup with water and reaching for the capsules. One of them was red, the other blue; but hadn't they been white a few seconds ago?

Before her frazzled mind could wrap itself around this latest conundrum, she heard a beeping noise and her mum saying "Croissants are ready, come and get 'em!"

The tray of pastries was taken from the oven. Charlotte looked over, expecting to see golden flaky rolls; instead, she saw a large, grey mass that looked like a clenched, slimy hand – and it was horribly familiar. She barely managed to cover her mouth to stop the scream escaping.

"Now what?" Sue asked, a touch exasperated. Then she saw how pale Charlotte was, and her frown changed to one of concern. "Are you feeling alright?"

Charlotte shook her head, unable to take her eyes off the gnarled, horrible creature on the baking tray, invisible to all eyes but hers. "I don't feel so…I need to go lie down" she said, running out of the kitchen and back to her bedroom. She barricaded the door and sat on her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest. _What's happening? Am I going mad?_

"Come on, pull yourself together".

 _But I…I keep seeing things!_

"Yeah, you might be trying to tell yourself something".

 _Like what?_

"You're dying".

 _What?!_

Charlotte's eyes flew open in alarm. Dying? How?

"Or really, _we're_ dying".

She finally realised that the voice she was hearing was coming from outside her head; she looked to her right, and yelped. Sitting on the chair she'd blocked the door with, was…well, it was her. An exact duplicate, except this one was dressed, in jeans, a jumper and a coat. She was also holding a torch. Charlotte stared, open mouthed, and finally managed to say something. "B-but...huh?"

"Oh, so that's what I'd do if I met my doppleganger" the other Charlotte noted with interest, "Do me a favour and remember that when you wake up".

"I…I am awake" Charlotte said, uncertainly.

"Uh, no, actually you're not. You're dreaming right now. In fact, you're actually in a telepathic induced dream state designed to keep you docile whilst an alien organism eats your brain. The Dream Crabs, from Doctor Who, remember?"

"Yeah, but that's just a show. It's just fiction".

"It isn't just fiction, and you know it. You and Laura somehow ended up in the Whoniverse, and you've been travelling with the Doctor ever since. You remember the name of the planet you were on?"

"I wasn't on another planet".

"Charlotte, you and I both know you aren't this stubborn. I _am_ you. I'm your voice of reason".

"My…"

"You know, the rational part of your mind, the part that figures out when things aren't right. Everything you keep seeing; the mucus in the taps, the Dream Crab on the tray, the different coloured pills – it's all a way of fighting back against the parasite that's trying to devour your grey matter. You can feel it, in your temple, can't you?"

"Stop it" Charlotte frowned, rubbing her temple.

"It placed you in a dream state, a false reality where you can pretend that you're safe at home, but you've been fighting back without realising all this time. That's why I'm here. The Doctor and Clara got Santa Claus; you get me. Who better to talk you out of something stupid than yourself?" the other Charlotte pointed out.

The first Charlotte frowned, trying to wrap her head around everything. "What makes you think I'm going to do something stupid?"

"You're tempted to stay, to let yourself get eaten if it means seeing your family again" the other Charlotte explained, before taking something out of her pocket and walking over to the first one. She held her hand out; in it lay the red and blue pill. "You tried to give yourself a choice, without realising it. Just like that bit in the Matrix…the blue pill for ignorance, and the red pill for reality. I think you know which one to choose".

Charlotte stared at the two little pills in her duplicate's hand. If she swallowed the blue pill, she'd fall deeper into this dream and be killed…but she'd be happy. If she swallowed the red pill, she'd wake up in the caves… _what if I can't wake Laura, or the Doctor? What if more Dream Crabs attack?_

"Then you'll have to keep going through this until you die or escape".

"Oh thanks, that's helpful…are you reading my thoughts?"

The other Charlotte rolled her eyes and said, "We're the same person, dummy".

"You just called yourself a dummy" Charlotte snickered, and then she yawned, feeling oddly tired all of a sudden.

"We don't have much time. The Crab is fighting, making you sleepy. You need to take the red pill, quickly" her doppleganger said urgently.

"You said I had a choice!"

"It's a choice between dying and living! You'd be extra dumb to choose the first option!"

"I know, but…" Charlotte sighed, tearing up a bit, "Do I at least have time to say goodbye to them?"

The other Charlotte sighed, and stepped aside. "Don't take too long" she warned.

Charlotte scrambled off the mattress and hurried into the living room. Just as she hoped, her parents, siblings, even her grandmother were there, watching TV. Okay, this was definitely a dream. Her grandmother hardly _ever_ watched television in their living room, not when she had her own.

"Hello, darling" her dad smiled at her, "Oh, what's wrong?"

With a deep breath, Charlotte explained, "I'm dreaming, about all of you, I miss you so much but if I don't wake up, I'll die. I have to go, I don't want to, but I have to, a-and I came to say goodbye". Tears rolled down her cheeks. She wanted so badly to hug them, but she feared that if she did, neither they nor her would be able to let go.

"Why would you die?" asked Lucy, "Are you in a coma or something?"

"Sort of…it's hard to explain" said Charlotte, before she yawned again and swayed on the spot. She grasped the fireplace mantel to steady herself; time was running out. "I love you guys. Mum, dad, Ian, Lucy, grandma. You're the best, and I promise, I'll come back home. Me and Laura will come back home…I'll see you later" she said, before forcing herself to leave the room, closing the door behind her.

The other Charlotte was waiting for her in the kitchen, holding out the glass of water and the red pill. "It's for the best" she told the first Charlotte.

"I know". She swallowed the red pill down with the water, set the cup aside and asked, "Now what?"

"Well, unless it didn't work, you should be"-

/

Charlotte sat bolt upright and gasped, dry heaving. "Charlotte!" the Doctor cried in relief, cradling her head in his hands and searching her eyes. "You're okay, I've got you" he said with a sigh of relief, kissing her on the forehead before pulling out his sonic. Charlotte looked around, trying to get her bearings. She was in a cave, with the Doctor, and Laura was lying next to her with a Dream Crab on her face –

"Laura!" she cried in alarm, "You can get that thing off her, right?"

"Yeah, I just need to zap the neural centres" he said, sonicking Laura's temples and prising the Dream Crab off her face. It squealed and crumbled to dust as Laura flinched, her eyes flying open. Charlotte hugged her, or tried to, because the Doctor was already tugging them to their feet. "Come on, come on, let's go!" he urged.

The three of them grabbed the torches and ran for it, back up the tunnel and into the open air, and didn't stop until they were back inside the TARDIS. "Wait!" Charlotte exclaimed, "My head still hurts. We're still in the dream!"

Laura looked at her and gasped, "You're bleeding!"

Charlotte reached up and touched her right temple; when she took her fingers away, they were spotted with blood. Laura was bleeding as well, and the Doctor, but he was already sealing up the puncture wound on his temple with his sonic.

"It really hurts" Laura whimpered.

"Of course it hurts, Laura, the Dream Crab was trying to drill through your skull" the Doctor reminded her, sonicking the wound and making the blood clot, leaving nothing but a small scar.

"Your bedside manner sucks" Charlotte joked, before realising, "Wait; those things were eating our brains. Are our brains like soup now? If we tilt our heads, will they drip out of our ears?" she asked, before giggling. "Why am I laughing?"

"Because you're giddy; now hold still" the Doctor instructed, scanning her temple and healing it. "Don't scratch at it – and no, your brain is not going to drip out of your ears. The Dream Crabs didn't have time to get to our brains; we all woke up too soon".

"Oh, well that's good…wait…"

"What?"

Charlotte reached up and wiped some gunk off the top of her head, staring at her fingers with an expression of dawning horror. "…Eww! There's Dream Crab snot in my _hair_!" She wiped her fingers on the nearest surface – the Doctor's shirt – and ran off to find a shower.

The Doctor looked down at his stained shirt, and then at Laura, who was checking her own hair for Dream Crab snot and looking relieved when she didn't find any. He sighed. _I'll never understand women._

/

Later, after she'd washed her hair again and gotten something to eat, Charlotte returned to the console room. "Hey!" the Doctor greeted, "Feel any better?"

"Yeah…sorry about earlier" she said apologetically, noticing that he'd changed his shirt.

"It's alright, I've had worse stains. Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to ask you – how did you wake up?"

"What do you mean?"

"I knew I was dreaming from the beginning, forced myself to wake up. I was just about to get the Dream Crab off you when you woke up by yourself. How did you manage that?"

"I knew it was a dream too…well, my subconscious did. Another version of me appeared and told me to take the red pill, y'know, like in the Matrix. I…part of me didn't want to" she admitted.

The Doctor gently placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "Were you…dreaming about being back home?" he guessed.

She nodded. "That's sort of why I wanted to talk to you…" Charlotte described her first nightmare, explained that she'd had it at least twice before, and what she thought it meant. "I'm afraid that we'll get back home too late and everyone I know will be dead, or just have moved on. I'm scared that if they think I'm dead, they won't believe it when I come back. And I'm worried that, if we fell into your universe, other aliens could fall into mine and cause chaos...and we'd never know about it. Daleks could be ravaging my version of Earth, and I'd have no clue!"

"I find that unlikely" the Doctor interjected when she stopped for breath. "Charlotte, what happened to you and Laura is extremely rare. There are pinpricks between universes all the time, but that's all they are, pinpricks. Almost none of them become large enough to let people through, let alone whole Dalek armadas" he explained.

Charlotte frowned and asked, "But if it did happen, how would you know? You couldn't know".

"No, but the TARDIS could, seeing as how she exists across all of time and space. The old girl might not be able to talk anymore, but she has plenty of other ways of communicating". He should know; he'd spent the better part of the first few centuries figuring them out. "As for everything else; you won't be here long enough for that much time to pass in your universe, I promise. If they have assumed you've died, then I don't think it'll take you long to convince them otherwise when you get back. Your heartbeat should be a good place to start" he said wryly.

His companion snickered a bit in spite of everything. "Thanks…you're the best" she told him, giving him a hug.

"You're welcome. Now then, I seem to remember you saying something about wanting to try a banana daiquiri?"

"Err…that was the panic talking. Besides, you don't even like alcohol!"

"I haven't had a daiquiri in ages; I might like it. You might like it. One drink won't do us any harm".

"It will if they turn out to be nice…okay, fine. I'll try one. Let me find Laura, I don't want her to feel left out" said Charlotte, heading up the stairs as the Doctor fired up the TARDIS.

She still worried, but her worries were assuaged for the most part. Perhaps everything would be okay.


	16. Chapter 16 - JTTCOTT Pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS - Part One

Everything had been going brilliantly. After they'd picked up Clara and gone out for some banana daiquiris, which didn't taste as much like banana as they'd all hoped, the Doctor had taken them to see Dynamo live at the First Direct Arena. It had been a brilliant day, until a conversation in the console room led to the Doctor discovering what Clara had called his beloved ship during their adventure at Caliburn house. Needless to say, he was rather indignant, and had decided that Clara and the TARDIS needed to talk things out. "You said"-

"I know what I said" Clara rolled her eyes, "I was the one who said it".

"You said she was looking at you funny".

"I was tired, overwrought. I didn't mean it. It's an appliance. It does a job" Clara acknowledged, patting the console once.

"It's a pretty cool appliance; we're not talking cheese grater here!"

"You're not getting me to talk to your ship, that's properly bonkers".

The Doctor stroked the console and murmured, "It's okay, it's okay…"

"Aww, d'you wanna be alone with her?" Charlotte asked with a teasing grin, and all three of his companions giggled. The Doctor shot them all a deadpan 'very funny' glare and went back to…whatever it was he was doing.

"You're like one of those guys who can't go out with a girl unless his mother approves" Clara commented.

"It's important to me you get along" he insisted, before suggesting, "I could leave _you two_ alone together".

"Now you're creeping me out".

"Why is Clara the problem?" Charlotte questioned, "Maybe you should have a good long talk with your sentient time machine about how to deal with one's feelings getting hurt". The TARDIS hummed a bit louder at that; she looked up at the ceiling and pointed out, "Complaining is only going to make my point for me, Sexy".

"No, no, no, you don't call her that, I call her that" the Doctor insisted a bit possessively, before hitting on an even better idea, in his opinion. "Take the wheel" he said to Clara, "Not the wheel. I'll make it easy. Shut it down to basic mode for you".

"Basic?" Clara looked indignant, "Because I'm a girl?"

"No" said the Doctor, turning a key in the console. The lights in the console dimmed briefly.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Laura, "I mean, won't lowering the shields put the TARDIS at risk?"

The Doctor looked at her and pointed out, "I never said that it would lower the shields". Laura blinked, and then face-palmed. _So much for being subtle,_ she thought.

"Wait, hang on, is this – is this an episode?" Clara realised, "Have you seen this happen before?"

"'Fraid so" Charlotte replied, "But the whole mess can be avoided if you just put the shields back up, Doctor" she insisted.

He held her gaze for a few moments, before nodding and saying, "Okay, I'll trust you on this". He made to turn the key again, when the whole room shuddered and the power went out completely, leaving only red emergency lighting.

"What happened? What's going on?" Clara asked frantically. The Doctor struggled to turn the key, or even to make any of the controls do something.

"Err, okay… All the electrical impulses are jammed. I can't get the shields back up. She's completely vulnerable" he realised worriedly.

"Oh, it's too late" Charlotte groaned, "Just hang on tight, and if anyone sees a silver egg shaped thing rolling across the floor, grab it!" she instructed, moments before the console went _Bang!_

A lot of yelling and explosions ensued. "Magnetic hobble field!" the Doctor called out, "We're flying right into it; stay close, you three" he instructed.

"Easier said than done!" snapped Charlotte, bracing herself against the railing as the TARDIS shook violently. Clara hung on for dear life and said desperately, "Please tell me there's a button you can press to fix this!"

"Oh yes, big friendly button!"

"You're lying".

"Yep"

"To stop me freaking out?"

"Is it working?"

"Not so much" Clara admitted; she heard a clanging sound and looked down just in time to see a silver, grenade like device rolling across the floor – just as Charlotte had described. She made a grab for it, but it was scalding hot, and she winced as it burned her hand, dropping it again.

Charlotte saw the device roll away and her eyes widened in alarm. "Wait, no! Someone grab it again!" she yelled, letting go of the railing and lurching forwards just as another big explosion rocked the console room. The entire TARDIS seemed to flip over, sending all four passengers flying – there were screams and smoke and hard surfaces and then – everything went dark.

/

 _Owww…_ was the only coherent thought percolating through Charlotte's mind as she regained consciousness…with a groan, she tried to get her bearings without actually having to open her eyes. She was lying on her back on something hard, and the back of her head felt like it had been split open; her limbs didn't seem to be broken, or at least she took the fact that she wasn't in agonising pain, merely aching all over, as a good sign…she could smell smoke…

Her eyes snapped open in alarm. She was lying on the lower level of the TARDIS, underneath the console platform…her addled mind tried to dredge up memories of what had just happened, and she came to the conclusion that she'd lost her balance and slid, or been tossed, off the platform to the lower level and lost consciousness when she hit her head on the ground below – which would explain the splitting headache.

Said headache was not helped by the clanging of the Cloister Bell, and worsened by the sound of something heavy thumping on the doors. Charlotte groaned and covered her ears, mentally swearing. _I hope Laura and Clara are okay_ she thought worriedly, trying to summon the energy to stand up and go looking for them – or the Doctor – or the salvagers, just so she could punch them in the face – a few blissful moments of silence were shattered by a rather high pitched humming noise…it took a moment for her to recognise it as the sound of a laser.

Scowling, she slowly rolled onto her stomach, and slowly moved into a sitting position…her head was _killing_ her…she raised a hand and carefully felt the back of her skull, wincing but feeling relieved when she only felt a large bruise, and no blood. A bitter taste invaded her mouth and she coughed hard; the console was damaged, of course, and leaking dangerous smokes and gases…without really expecting it to work, Charlotte forced words out of her dry throat and called, "Extractor fans on".

Much to her surprise, and even bigger relief, the whirr of fans filled the air and the smoke began to clear. "Thanks…" she told the ship, panting. Okay, she was sitting up, now to try to standing…taking it slowly, Charlotte shuffled up to the platform above her and used the edge to haul herself up, forced her aching legs to move up the steps…there was no sign of Laura, and she hoped her best friend was uninjured, or better yet with Clara…though given what was lurking in the TARDIS now, she'd rather they were both safe here…

Eventually, with several breaks to close her eyes and wait for her head to stop spinning, she made it to the doors. Charlotte opened the left hand door, leaned out, and said to the four men staring at her, "I hate to be rude, but could you keep the _fucking noise down?_ "

"Charlotte!" The Doctor ran over and helped her down off the pile of cables and junk the TARDIS had been dumped on. "Look at me" he instructed, cradling her head in his hands, "…You've got a minor concussion. Here, chew this" he said, pulling what looked like a gumdrop out of his pocket and handing it to her. Charlotte gave him a suspicious glance, but popped it in her mouth nonetheless. It began to dissolve like sherbet – it actually tasted vaguely like sherbet – and she felt her headache clearing almost immediately.

"Thanks" she said gratefully.

"You're welcome" the Doctor smiled, before turning to the three salvagers and explaining, "As I was saying, I'm the Doctor, and this is my companion, Charlotte…" he suddenly remembered he had two more companions, and urgently asked Charlotte, "Where are Laura and Clara?"

"I dunno…they must've got thrown out of the console room…after this lot damaged the TARDIS with their stupid outlawed hobble field" she replied, shooting a glare at Gregor… _what kind of stupid name is that, anyway?_

He frowned at her and insisted – or rather lied – "We found you drifting out in space; your ship was junked up pretty bad".

"Yes, as Charlotte said, by your magno-grab" the Doctor replied coolly, holding up the grenade shaped device he'd pickpocketed from Gregor. "Found this remote in your pocket. Outlawed in most galaxies, this little beastie can disable whole vessels unless you have shield oscillators… which I turned off so that Clara could fly, damn it".

"Never mind that; let's just get back in there and find the others" Charlotte insisted, walking back towards the TARDIS.

Tricky called out, "No, wait. The pod is leaking fuel. If they're still in here, they're dead" he insisted.

Charlotte turned, stared at him and said bluntly, "I already took care of the fumes…and don't you _dare_ try to tell me that my best friend has died. Doctor, _come on_ " she said impatiently, climbing back up onto the door of the TARDIS and rummaging in her pockets for her key. The Doctor turned to the salvagers' and said urgently, "Help us get our friends out, please".

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no" Charlotte interjected swiftly, "We do _not_ need them. Doctor, you know perfectly well that they captured the TARDIS on purpose, and you're just going to let them on board? Trust me, they'll be nothing but trouble" she declared, before turning back to her search for the key.

There was a pause, and then Gregor inquired, "What sort of fee are we talking?"

"I won't punch you in the face" Charlotte offered sarcastically. She'd found her key at last and was now attempting to unlock the doors. It would be going a lot faster if the Doctor would just snap his fingers.

" _Oi_ " he hissed, "Charlotte, we can't find Laura and Clara on our own. Please, I know what I'm doing" he insisted, before turning to Gregor and revealing, "If you help us get them out, you get the machine, all the scrap, yeah?"

"It's not worth the risk" Bram decided, "Four feet of metal? Nah".

"What if I can guarantee you the best haul you've ever had?"

"I've got it" Charlotte grinned triumphantly, shifting so she could open the door. She looked back up at the others and announced, "The Doctor and I will be leaving now, thank you".

"Charlotte, why are you being so difficult?" the Doctor demanded in exasperation.

"I'm trying to stop you from making a huge mistake" she insisted, "…but why bother? I'm going to go help my friends. Have fun with your new ones" she said witheringly, before opening the TARDIS door and sliding in. She picked herself up off the floor, shut the door behind her (ignoring the Doctor's shouts) and ran for it, down the corridor nearest to where she'd fallen. Laura and Clara had been on that side of the console, so it was a pretty safe bet that they'd be down there.

/

Clara moaned in pain as she awoke, and coughed. She was lying in one of the corridors, underneath a twisted piece of metal that had fallen against the wall next to her. She had also, fortunately enough, landed on some plastic piping of some kind. Clara pulled herself out from underneath it, relieved to find herself uninjured except for a burnt hand, and looked around. She spotted Laura lying a few feet away and hurried over, checking her friend's pulse. It was steady, and she managed to rouse Laura as well.

The two of them got to their feet, steadying one another, and looked around. "What now?" asked Clara, "Haven't you seen all this before, in your world?"

"Yeah" Laura nodded, "Um…we need to find the console room. It's the safest place in the ship…" she looked worriedly at Clara and said, "I hope Charlotte and the Doctor are alright".

"They'll be fine" Clara gave an encouraging smile, "So, console room, yeah?" She winced and looked at her palm.

"Maybe we'll find the med bay on the way" Laura suggested. A light attracted their attention, and they walked up to a closed bulkhead door with a red light flashing and beeping above it. "We probably shouldn't open that" Laura commented.

"Why, what's behind it?"

"An explosion" Laura replied bluntly. No sooner had she spoken, than a reverberating and rumbling noise rushed towards them; Laura turned and hurried down the way they came. Clara followed her, and they ducked into another corridor, shutting the first bulkhead door they came to behind them.

"Oh...this foreknowledge thing is really handy, it's a shame you can't use it more often" remarked Clara. Laura chuckled a bit, but it soon faded at the sight of something on the wall…long, black claw marks. They heard something growling, a snarling rasp, and they couldn't tell if it was near or far. "What was that?" Clara whispered.

"I don't know" Laura lied; of course she knew, she just didn't want to say anything.

"Really?"

"Yes!" Laura hissed, "That other door will hold back the explosion. Let's go back and find another way" she suggested. They opened the door, and Clara reached around to hit the button and close it behind them.

/

"I don't get it, I thought it was lying on its side" Gregor said in confusion, as they followed the Doctor into his ship…the Doctor hadn't actually wanted to bring them along, but if he was going to find Laura and Clara – and now Charlotte as well – he'd need all the help he could get.

"The TARDIS is special. She has her own gravity. I'd explain if I had some charts and a board pen".

"It's…it's…it's bigger…"

"On the inside" the Doctor finished for him, "Do you know, I get that a lot".

"Whoa" said Tricky, the youngest of the three salvagers, who was apparently an android and yet needed protective gear… "Awesome" he grinned.

"Well put, whoa and awesome" the Doctor agreed, nodding. They heard footsteps approaching down one of the corridors…a few moments later, Charlotte appeared in the entrance, with a confused and very annoyed expression on her face. She took one look at them, glowered and spun on her heel to walk back out. "Wait!" the Doctor cried, hurrying over.

Begrudgingly, Charlotte turned to face him and asked " _What_?"

He hesitated at the sourness in her voice. "Charlotte, are you mad at me?"

"Oh no, why would I be mad at you?" she rolled her eyes. Seriously, how could a man from a species so intelligent be so dense? "I came back because I…I thought you could use some help" Charlotte explained. That, and she didn't want to be alone in the TARDIS with those creatures running amok. "I didn't think you'd bring _them_ along as well".

"What's your problem with us?" Bram demanded to know; it was irritating, constantly being glared and sniped at.

"I don't trust you" Charlotte replied bluntly, "…Except maybe you" she added to Tricky, "You're not as bad".

"Um…thanks?"

"Guys, we don't have time for this" the Doctor insisted, getting them back on track. He pulled out his sonic and began scanning for any trace of Laura and Clara; Charlotte rolled her eyes and pointed out "Doctor, they probably ended up somewhere down this corridor", she pointed to the one she'd just come out of, "Let's just send these guys on their way and go find our friends".

"We need them to help" the Doctor insisted.

"No, we" – Charlotte shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Once she'd calmed down, she opened her eyes and gave the Doctor a smile that clearly didn't reach her eyes. "Okay, I _trust_ you. I will concede to your obviously superior judgement, they can help find Laura and Clara…what do you think, one hour?" she suggested idly.

"One hour sounds good. You hear that, guys?" the Doctor spun to face the salvagers, "We have one hour to find Laura, find Clara, fix my ship and go on our merry ways" he declared, moving over to the console.

"What makes you think we'll help?" Bram asked selfishly.

The Doctor just showed them a countdown on the scanner, reading 59:59:10. "I just activated the Tardis self-destruct system. One hour until this ship blows" he announced. Bram made a run for it, but the Doctor raised his sonic and deadlocked the door shut. "Don't try to leave. The Tardis is in lockdown".

"You crazy lunatic!"

"My ship, my rules"

"You'll kill us all!" Gregor protested.

"They might die if you don't help me" the Doctor retorted, "Don't get into a spaceship with a madman, didn't anyone ever teach you that? Okay, a little gently persuasion. Say thirty minutes" he suggested, flicking a switch. The countdown jumped to 29:59:10, 9, 8…

"They'll die even quicker now!"

"We all perform better under pressure. Anybody want to go for fifteen?"

"Whoa!"

"Whoa!" Gregor and Bram protested frantically as the Doctor reached for the switch again. He straightened up and stared them down. "It's your own time you're wasting. Salvage of a lifetime…you meant the ship. I meant my friends".

/

Clara and Laura were making their way through the corridors, trying to figure out which way the console room might be, but mainly getting hopelessly lost. They came across a stone arched door, and Clara paused, looking at it curiously. "Hey. What do you think is in here?" she asked.

"Uh, I dunno…" Laura replied hesitantly.

"You must know…I thought all this was part of the episode?"

"Well, uh…it's just a storeroom" she said, trying to make it sound boring without having to say that one of the creatures was lurking inside. Rather than dampen Clara's curiosity however, her remark just increased it. "Storeroom for what, I wonder?" she mused, pushing on the door. It wasn't properly shut, and that ought to have rung an alarm bell, but Clara's curiosity got the better of her and she stepped inside. "Clara, wait!" Laura hissed, "Come back!"

The room was full of all sorts of odds and ends; a wooden cot with a star mobile (had the Doctor had kids once?), a paper model of the TARDIS, a black umbrella, a humanoid with glowing red eyes…Clara cried out in alarm and ran out of the room, shutting the door behind her. She and Laura took off running down the corridor. "Why didn't you just say that there was a monster in there?!" demanded Clara.

"Well, I…look, never mind that, just run!"

"What _is_ that thing, anyway?"

/

The Doctor led the way through the corridors, followed by Charlotte, Tricky, Bram and Gregor…the latter hung back, taking out his handheld computer and muttering to it, "Report. What's on board this thing?"

"Dynomorphic generators, conceptual geometer, beam synthesiser, orthogonal engine filters" the computer's programmed female voice intoned. Gregor didn't have to know what any of that was, to know that getting his hands on it would make him…and his brothers…rich beyond their wildest dreams. He caught up with the others and suggested hastily, "Guys, guys, look, I think we should split up. It's our best chance of finding the others. You know it is".

The Doctor hesitated; Charlotte watched him, perhaps he'd say no, insist on them sticking together so he could keep an eye on them…but instead, all he said was "Don't touch a thing. The TARDIS will get huffy if you mess".

 _That's an understatement_ she said to herself, thinking of the maze they'd end up in.

Gregor nodded in agreement (she was amazed he didn't cross his fingers behind his back) and told Bram and Tricky, "Stay in radio contact, alright?"

Tricky nodded; he and the Doctor went down the corridor, and Charlotte hesitated briefly before following them. _Sorry, TARDIS_ she thought apologetically, hoping the telepathic time machine could hear her somehow, _but I need to help Laura and Clara…and teach the Doctor a lesson_ she thought bitterly. Speaking of the Doctor, he murmured to her, "D'you have any idea where they might be?"

"What, you want my opinion now?"

"Charlotte, what's wrong?"

"I'd have thought it was obvious" she grumbled…she knew she was being petty, but really, everything would work out in the end… "They might be near the library" she murmured at last.

/

Laura and Clara soon lost the creature, which seemed to be mercifully slow, but they kept running, not wanting to risk it catching up. They ran past the observatory (it was amazing how many galaxies one could see through that giant telescope), and the swimming pool (in which Laura had begun to conquer her long held fear of drowning, she was pretty proud of herself for that), and finally, ducked into the first room with a closed door – the library. Six stories of shelves of books… "Now that's just showing off!" Clara remarked jokingly.

/

Bram cut and prised off a console – to his bewilderment, indistinct disembodied voices filled the air, apparently emerging from within the ship. Some of the sentences were clearer than others.

" _I made up the name TARDIS from the initials, Time And Relative Dimensions In Space"._

" _The TARDIS is dimensionally transcendental"._

" _What does that mean?"_

" _That's trans-dimensional engineering. A key Time Lord discovery"._

" _The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door. Believe me, they've tried"._

" _We are in space!"_

" _It can move anywhere in time and space?"_

 _/_

Gregor brought up the rear as the small group of four made their way through the corridors. He was paying more attention to his handheld computer…they passed one door, and his computer announced, "Everything".

"What?" he asked in bewilderment, "Report".

"Everything, behind that door" it explained.

"Everything?"

"Sensor detects everything you could possibly want".

Naturally, he pushed his way into the room. In the centre stood what looked like a mechanical tree, with lots of glowing spheres or bulbs on the end of trailing cables. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before. "Everything" the computer repeated, scanning the tree-machine.

"I don't understand" he said, "Give me a price tag".

"Incalculable".

"What?"

"More valuable than the total sum of any currency" the computer explained, "Living metal. Bespoke engineering. Whatever machine you require, this system will build it".

Now that was just too tempting. Gregor put the computer away and hefted the laser cutter to remove a cable or two, but just as he set blade to cable, the Doctor, Charlotte and Tricky ran in. "No! No, no, stop! Please, don't. Don't touch it. Please" the Doctor begged, "She won't let you touch it. I can feel a TARDIS tantrum coming on" he said worriedly.

"What the hell is this place?" Gregor demanded to know.

"Architectural Reconfiguration System. It reconstructs particles according to your needs".

"A machine that makes machines?"

"Yes, basically" the Doctor nodded, and then asked in alarm, "What are you doing? No, no, don't. Don't!"

Gregor had grabbed hold of one of the glowing spheres, ready to pull it off. "If you walk out of here with that circuit, the TARDIS will try to stop you" the Doctor warned him, "Now listen to me. Look, the clock is ticking. We must find Clara and Laura".

"Just leave that circuit alone, it isn't yours to take!" Charlotte protested, wanting to at least make an effort to defend the TARDIS, even if it would ultimately prove fruitless.

The greedy salvager didn't listen; he yanked the sphere off, and the all the others dimmed briefly, a roar echoing throughout the room. Gregor ignored it and headed for the exit…only to find that it had disappeared.

"What the – where's the door gone?"

"Ever seen a spaceship get ugly?" asked the Doctor.

"Yeah, maybe if you put down the circuit you've nicked, it'll come back" Charlotte suggested.

"The TARDIS won't relinquish it" the Doctor warned, "Her basic genetic material".

Unconcerned with the warning, Gregor pulled a device out and tossed it to Tricky. "Torch it" he ordered, but Tricky hesitated, "I said, torch it".

"Can't you feel it, Gregor? The ship, the ship's in torment, like it's a living thing. You can't hurt it" Tricky protested. Charlotte liked him for that, but she couldn't help wondering how he could sense the TARDIS' pain if he wasn't actually an android. Maybe he was just in tune with machines more? Considering how his brothers acted, she didn't really blame him.

Gregor put the circuit in his backpack, and the door reappeared. "What's the matter, TARDIS?" he sneered, "Scared to fight me?"

He walked out of the room; Tricky and the Doctor decided not to comment on the rude gesture Charlotte made at his retreating back. Tricky gave them an apologetic look and followed his brother out…Charlotte looked over her shoulder and said to the Doctor, "I hope you're happy", before she too left the room. The Doctor patted one of the other spheres gently, silently apologising to his beloved ship for getting them into this mess. Charlotte had been right from the start, but he hadn't listened…and it didn't look like she was going to forgive him any time soon.

/

Laura and Clara walked further into the library, thinking that they'd just lay low there for a bit and then try to sneak out…Clara spotted a large book, lying on a stand on its own. She went closer and read the title, 'The History of the Time War'. "I don't think you should read that" said Laura, making her jump, "It might be private".

Clara was about to ask why it would be left out if it were private…then it occurred to her that Laura had tried to tell her the storeroom was dangerous, and she did know some of what would happen, so Clara decided to trust her on this one. Something clanged, they heard a growl – they ducked behind one of the shelves, one with lots of stoppered bottles marked 'Encyclopaedia Gallifreyica'. Muffled sounds, like voices, emanated from the bottle. Clara pressed her back to the shelf and accidentally dislodged one of the bottles; fortunately, Laura managed to catch it before it could smash.

The creature roamed around; they peered at it cautiously through gaps in the shelf. It was rather short, and a just a little thick around the middle, with one hand fused to its hip. Laura felt a pang of fear as she guessed what…or rather, who…the creature was. It moved away from her and Clara; they sneaked out behind it, and made a break for the door.

/

Tricky, Gregor, the Doctor and Charlotte came to a junction…that looked identical to the one they'd just left. "It's the same" Tricky said in bewilderment, "It's just the same".

"The TARDIS is diverting us, spinning a maze around us. We will never reach them in time" he told Gregor pointedly, wanting him to just put the circuit down and leave it, the TARDIS could take it from there. The man ignored him, and walked away down the corridor ahead. "Hey! Hey!" the Doctor protested, following him, as did Tricky. Charlotte just stayed where she was, and sure enough, the three men emerged from the corridor behind her. "Enjoy your trip?" she asked Gregor sarcastically.

"It's just the same, _again_ " said Tricky. _Thank you, captain obvious_ thought Charlotte, but she didn't want to be rude, she liked Tricky. _I wonder if he has a different name, a more human one_ she mused.

"No point in building walls" the Doctor reasoned, "You'll just know how to smash them down. It's found other ways of controlling you. Smart bunch, Time Lords; no dress sense, dreadful hats, but _smart_. If you want to get out of here, let that circuit go. It is creating a labyrinth".

Gregor had no intention of giving up what might be his ticket to being rich beyond his wildest dreams…but the weird goings on were starting to get to him, so he pulled out his radio and tried to make contact with Bram. "Bram? Bram, can you hear me?" he demanded, "Bram, the ship is alive. Get out of there. Bram, don't touch anything".

He vaguely heard Bram say, "You're just the sweetest thing ever", but he got the feeling Bram wasn't talking to him. He tried again and said "Bram? You've got to get out of there fast".

There was a thudding sound and what sounded like a scream on the other end, then just static. "Channel's dead" Gregor said, disgusting Charlotte with how unconcerned he sounded. She wasn't the only one. "We've got to help him" Tricky insisted, "Gregor, do something. Do something!"

"It's too late, he's gone. Let's just worry about the salvage".

"Oh for fuck's sake" Charlotte snapped, her patience reaching the end of its tether. "Get this through your thick head – there is _no_ salvage! Salvage means it's junk, that no-one wants it – I'm pretty sure the Doctor still wants his ship! But you don't give a fuck about other people's feelings or property, do you? You self-obsessed, greedy piece of"-

"Shut up!" he shouted suddenly, "God, just shut up, you annoying little bitch!"

"Don't you _dare_ speak to her like that!" the Doctor snarled, getting between them and glaring at Gregor furiously. "Charlotte was right – I should _never_ have trusted you. I bet your brother went off to see what he could take, and now he could very well be dead or injured, and your concern for him is _really_ touching, the android is more cut up about it than you" he said, letting his disgust show clearly in his voice.

He turned from Gregor to Charlotte and told her, "I'm sorry. I really am…I should have trusted you, I should have listened".

"Yeah…well, if you're listening now, we need to get out of here" she told him.

"Okay" he answered immediately, making her smile to see that he really was going to trust her, and then he asked "Why?"

"Cos there's err, something else here with us, coming down, erm…that corridor" Charlotte explained, pointing at the corridor behind Gregor…then she frowned and added, "Or is it…uh oh. I don't remember which one it is!"

"Remember what?" asked Tricky. The Doctor waved his question off – they didn't have time to get into details about Charlotte's home universe – and pulled out his sonic, scanning their surroundings.

"Multiple lifeforms on board the TARDIS with us" he gulped, "I am getting a massive signal".

"Where are they?" asked Tricky.

"Err, they're err…that way" he said, pointing the sonic down the corridor that Gregor was standing in front of. "Looks like you were right after all" he smiled at Charlotte.

"Yeah, yeah, we can celebrate later. Let's go!"

"Right, good idea" the Doctor agreed, taking her hand, "Tricky, Gregor, come on! That thing is getting closer!"

"But what is it?"

"Tricky, trust me, you don't want to know!"


	17. Chapter 17 - JTTCOTT Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS - Part Two

Laura and Clara were still trying to make their way through the seemingly endless labyrinth of the TARDIS…at last they arrived at the console room, much to Clara's relief. "Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you" she praised, deciding to take back everything she had said about the ship, kissing the console in sheer relief…but then she realised that the door was missing. "No! The door, where's the door gone? No, you can't _do_ this!" she protested. What did the TARDIS have against her?

"It's alright, Clara" her friend hastened to reassure her, "The door's missing because this isn't the real console room, it's just an echo of it".

"What does that mean?"

"Err…that it's an echo of the console room" said Laura, as if it should be obvious. Clara was too stressed out to really listen; she hurried out of the room and down the corridor, trying to find another route to the real console room. She didn't even realise that Laura wasn't following her…not until she rounded a corner and found herself in the console room again, where Laura was waiting. Before Laura could explain, Clara ran back down the corridor and into the first echo console room.

"Oh, why are you doing this?" she demanded, frustrated by the TARDIS. More importantly though, Laura was a bit frustrated with her –

"Clara!" she exclaimed, making said woman jump, "Just calm down. Deep breaths" Laura advised, demonstrating. Clara sighed and tried to calm down; stressing out would get them nowhere, she realised. "Clara, the TARDIS is trying to _protect_ us; she's making it so those creatures can't get to us, so long as we don't open any doors".

"There aren't any doors to open".

"Well, let's keep it that way, shall we?" suggested Laura. "Now, we just have to wait until something falls off the console room. Trust me, it'll be a sign that the Doctor and Charlotte are nearby".

/

Little did Laura know, the Doctor and Charlotte (as well as Gregor and Tricky) had already reached another, empty console room; Charlotte grinned at the sight, knowing it meant they were close to finding her best friend.

"We're back where we started" Tricky said in surprise, and a bit of dismay; at this rate they would _never_ find the other two passengers. Damn Gregor for taking that circuit…

"No, it's an echo. The console room is the safest place on the ship. It can replicate itself any number of times. It's trying to protect us" the Doctor explained, noting the lack of a door; and he'd be willing to bet that all the corridors led to the same place.

Charlotte tugged on his sleeve and murmured, "Clara – and Laura too, hopefully – are in a different echo room. Knock a piece off the console and see if it disappears" she suggested. The Doctor dragged a hand over the busted controls and knocked loose a piece of metal; it fell off the console and vanished before their eyes.

"Where did, where did that go?" asked Tricky.

"There's more than one echo room. Hey, look, look" the Doctor said excitedly, when the wreckage on the console was disturbed without any of them touching it, "The TARDIS has got them safe – both of them, hopefully".

"Why can't we see them?"

"It's like a light switch. Two positions, flickering at super-infinite speeds. We're only together for a brief second. _Shh_ " the Doctor pressed a finger to his lips. They fell silent and listened…and heard someone humming a lilting, happy tune. Charlotte smiled, recognising it, and hummed along.

"That's Laura; that's definitely Laura. They're both okay!" she told the Doctor; they grinned and high fived each other. The Doctor turned to the console, saying "If I can just isolate their position, I can nudge the alternation, reach in and grab them".

Gregor stepped forward, ignoring Charlotte and Tricky's suspicious frowns. "You're coming with me" he told the Doctor, who wasn't really listening, "I need you to get me out of here".

Rather than respond, the Doctor simply plucked Gregor's computer out of his hand and sonicked it. "Scanning for female humans" the device announced, "Scanning for female humans…unidentified humans".

"It doesn't know Lancashire" the Doctor remarked.

"What?"

"It doesn't know sass – or eagerness, for that matter…yes! It's found Clara and Laura. It's found them, they're right there" he smiled, flicking a switch on the console. The two missing companions appeared, partially at least, their outlines blurred. The Doctor reached out and grabbed their shoulders, pulling them through, or across, or something.

Charlotte hugged Laura, and the Doctor hastily apologised. "It's all right. Listen, I'm so, so sorry. Sorry. Please, please forgive me" he pleaded, holding his arms out to Clara so she could hug him…she slapped his arm instead. "Ow! Okay, so we're not doing hugging. I get that now".

"What do you keep in here?" Clara demanded, "Why have you got zombie creatures? Good guys do not have zombie creatures. Rule one basic storytelling".

"Not in front of the guests" he protested, gesturing to Gregor and Tricky.

"Who are they?"

"Acquaintances – well, people who aren't trying to kill us, so I don't need punching again".

"Alright, alright" Gregor interrupted the conversation, "Look, a deal's a deal. You got the girls back. Now cancel the self-destruct" he insisted.

Clara stared at the Doctor in disbelief – he'd put a self-destruct on? – But the Doctor was smiling. "Ah, ah, you know, I've got to tell you, I won't be needing you in my quiz team" he told a very confused Gregor.

"What?"

"There is no self-destruct" the Doctor told him, playfully 'punching' his chest. "Hey? Hey? Hey? Had you going though, boys, didn't I? I just wiggled a few buttons. Yeah, the old wiggly button trick, and the face. You've got to do the face. 'Save her or we all die'" he said with a very serious expression, "I thought I rushed it a bit, but"-

"So you're telling us we're safe?" asked Tricky, just wanting to be clear on everything.

"Yeah, about that" Charlotte said awkwardly, "We're safe apart from the monsters and the TARDIS re-configurating everything because Gregor _still_ hasn't given up the circuit he stole…and err, Doctor, I know you were kidding when you said the engine was going to blow up, but you might want to double check there isn't anything wrong with it…"

So the Doctor switched off the countdown, and the message that appeared on screen was 'Eye of Harmony. Engine Status: Overload'.

"Ah. That's not good. Okay, don't panic. Or maybe panic" he rambled. _Why didn't Charlotte mention this sooner?_ he wondered, only to wince when he realised _she probably thought I wouldn't listen to her._

Clara cleared her throat and inquired, "Something you want to share with the rest of us?"

"It appears the engine is damaged. We're in trouble, Clara, proper trouble. It needs fixing or we're toast" he said, before dashing down the steps to the lower level, Clara and the others in close pursuit.

"So now would be a good time to use that big friendly button, right?"

"Yes. Sorry, I should have had one built in".

"Where are we going?" asked Tricky.

"Detour" he replied, sonicking open a large hexagonal panel, "The centre of the TARDIS".

/

They climbed down a ladder into green lit corridors (or perhaps they were really large service ducts) deep in the TARDIS. The Doctor led the way, scanning for something with his sonic…a dark, growling shape darted across the corridor in front of them, and they froze. "Shh" hissed Clara, "Something's in here".

"Those things, they've followed us" Tricky realised.

"What are they?" Clara asked the Doctor, Laura and Charlotte, "What are you guys not telling me?"

"Trust me" the Doctor answered for all of them, "Some things you just don't want to know".

Gregor spun round when something, another creature, shifted behind him. "They're on the move again" he said, pushing past the others and running down the corridor. The Doctor decided that discretion was the better part of valour and cried, "Run, move, move!"

They ran. Clara didn't give much thought to where she was going, and ran down the wrong corridor. Laura hurried after her, not wanting her to get lost. Charlotte and the Doctor were almost at the end of the other corridor when they realised they'd lost Clara and Laura, _again,_ and went back to find them.

"Clara, wait, you're going the wrong way" said Laura, when she'd caught up to her friend. Clara looked sheepish, and began to follow Laura back out, but then she heard something strange…her own voice, but not coming out of her mouth. She saw herself walk past, saying " _I know what I said. I was the one who said it_ "

Then the Doctor saying, " _You said it was looking at you funny"._

"Laura…"

Clara turned to see Laura looking at herself, again, but it wasn't her. " _Now you're creeping me out_ " said other Clara, before suddenly looking distressed, " _Please tell me there is a button you can press to fix this?_ "

"What the…?"

"They're just echoes, Clara" said Laura at last, "They're not real".

"Echoes?" Clara repeated inquisitively, but before Laura could try to explain, Charlotte and the Doctor hurried in. They were obviously real, judging by the way Charlotte hugged Laura and then swiped her on the arm. "Quit wandering off!"

"Sorry".

"Doctor, what's going on?" Clara demanded, gesturing at…well, herself. She saw a flash of worry in his eyes before he hid it and explained, "There's a rupture in time somewhere on board the ship. A small tear in the fabric of the continuum. It must have happened when the TARDIS was pulled in by the salvage vessel. The TARDIS is leaking".

"Leaking what?" Clara asked as the Doctor led them back down the corridors.

"The past" he replied, "Everything we've done, everything we've said; recent history. It's not real. It's a memory" he explained. They turned a corner, and came face to face with one of the charred, red eyed creatures. It was quite thin, and Charlotte couldn't help but notice it's eyes were lined up exactly with hers….she shuddered.

"What about this one?" Clara stage whispered.

"If you're giving me the option, I'd say this one's real" the Doctor admitted. They ran for it, and the creature gave chase. _I'm trying to kill myself, wonderful_ Charlotte thought bitterly, looking over her shoulder at the creature. It was faster than they thought.

"She's gaining on us!"

"She?" asked Clara, wondering how they knew the gender.

"Don't ask!"

The Doctor ushered them all behind a wall and pressed a finger to his lips, warning them to be very, _very_ quiet. They all held their breaths, waiting and hoping that the creature would lose track of them.

" _Aww, d'you wanna be alone with her?_ " said an echo of Charlotte, walking past their hiding space.

" _You're like one of those guys who can't go out with a girl unless his mother approves"_ said echo-Clara.

" _It's important to me you get along. I could leave you two alone together"_ – and there was echo-Doctor. The creature followed their echoes instead, much to their relief. It was short lived, however, as they began to hear an ominous clanking, banging sound over the distant toll of the Cloister Bell.

"What's that noise?" Clara asked with trepidation. Charlotte and Laura looked at each other nervously; they hadn't been looking forward to this part. They hadn't been looking forward to any of it. Damnit, why hadn't they just broken the first rule just this once?

"We're right under the primary fuel cells".

"So? So, so what?"

"So, so the fuel's spilled out, so the rods will be exposed. Means they'll cool…"

"And start to warp" Clara realised.

"And start to warp" the Doctor agreed, "Maybe even…"

"Don't say it!" said Laura.

"Maybe even break apart" he said it anyway, and Laura yelped in alarm as a thick metal rod suddenly slammed across the corridor, right in front of them.

"Run?" Clara suggested breathlessly.

"I'm liking how you're thinking" the Doctor nodded, and they hurried down the corridor, narrowly missing the metal poles. The thought of being skewered on one of them made the humans feel sick with fear…all their blood ran cold when they heard a scream from up ahead.

They caught up with Gregor and Tricky, the latter of which was pinned to the wall by a rod through his shoulder. "Cut it off. Just cut my arm off" he was urging Gregor.

"No!"

"It's the quickest way to release me. No fear, no hate, no pain. I can get a new one. Disposable parts. Just do it. It won't hurt me".

"Tricky, you just don't understand" Gregor protested.

"I'm an android, cut me!"

"No, you're not!" Charlotte huffed in exasperation, "If you were you wouldn't be in pain, would you? And you obviously are!"

Tricky stared at her and then at Gregor in confusion. "But I shouldn't….I've always been an android!" he protested. Gregor looked away in shame, and Tricky cried out "What's wrong with you? Why won't you cut me?"

"Tell him" the Doctor ordered Gregor, who refused to meet his gaze.

"Tell me what?" Tricky asked in bewilderment. Gregor wouldn't look at him either.

"You can't, can you?" the Doctor glared, "You're a coward. You won't save him, but you're scared to tell him why".

"What's he going on about?"

"Oh for goodness sake, Tricky, _think_ about it" Charlotte huffed, "An android wouldn't have a 'flesh coating', it wouldn't need a blast suit, or get scared of monsters. You are _not_ an android" she told him. He just stared at her, unbelieving, until the Doctor scanned him and confirmed, "Two bionic eyes and a synthetic voice box. But you, my friend, are human, flesh and blood".

Before Tricky could wrap his mind around this, Gregor bit out, "It was a joke".

"What?"

For the first time he could remember, Gregor actually looked ashamed. "It was just a stupid joke. We did it to relieve the boredom" he explained.

"Well, it was very funny" the Doctor snapped sarcastically, before telling Tricky, "They lied to you. Changed your identity just to provide some in-flight entertainment".

"I'm sorry" said Gregor, and it sounded as if he really meant it, "You're human, Tricky".

"Cut the metal" the Doctor prompted, "Cut the metal, go!"

Gregor hefted up the laser splitter and sawed through the fuel rod. They managed to free Tricky, sealing his wound with a special spray that they carried for emergencies. From there it was only a short run to their destination. "Where are we?" asked Gregor, as the Doctor ran up to a bulkhead door with a round window in it.

"Power source" the Doctor explained, "Right, you lot, wait here. I'll check it's safe. We can only survive for a minute or two in there" he warned.

"Err, what happens if we stay longer?" asked Clara, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

"Our cells will liquefy and our skin will start to burn" the Doctor informed her. Okay, she definitely hadn't needed to know that.

"I always feel so good after we've spoken" she remarked sarcastically.

"Marvellous" the Doctor smiled, "Keep this door shut" he instructed.

"That will not be a problem" Clara agreed. The Doctor grinned at her, before ducking through it. Clara and Charlotte shut it behind him, wincing at the blast of heat they felt emanating from the chamber beyond.

Gregor had his scanner out again; the Doctor had used it to find his friends, but it couldn't get a clear reading before. He scanned the three young women, first Clara, then Laura and Charlotte. "Female, Lancashire, sass…female, Lancashire, optimism…female, Yorkshire, frustration".

"Hey!" Charlotte said indignantly…even if it was technically true, she only got frustrated when she was stressed out, or mad at herself - like now, for instance. _Calm down, it's fine, everything's fine…_ she told herself. It didn't really help. _I really hate this episode_ she grumbled.

He shrugged as if to say, 'Its words, not mine', and explained, "Intelligent sensor".

"Ever pointed that thing at yourself, Gregor?" Tricky asked bitterly, "What would it see? What sort of person does this to another human? Made them believe they're made of metal. Who am I?"

In reply, Gregor walked over and tore a patch off of Tricky's suit, revealing the badge 'Van Baalen Bros' underneath. "My mouthy little kid brother" he revealed.

Tricky frowned. "Why…why don't I remember?"

"It was a salvage accident. There was a big explosion. You lost your sight, voice and your memory".

"And you, you thought of a way you could have some fun with me? I just wanted a brother beside me!"

"You were always the smart one, Tricky" Gregor admitted, "He wanted you to take over. He made you captain".

"He?"

"Dad" Gregor elucidated.

Tricky looked distressed. "I don't remember him…" he realised; then he glared at Gregor. "You did this to me, just to be captain of a heap of junk!" he growled, suddenly lunging at Gregor. The two men struggled, but suddenly the Doctor was between them, forcing them apart.

"Stop! Tricky, listen to me" he demanded, "Ask yourself why he couldn't cut you up. He has just one tiny scrap of decency left in him, and you helped him find that, okay?" he asked. Tricky nodded slowly and pulled back. The Doctor looked at Gregor and ordered, "Now you, don't ever forget this".

They gathered at the door, braced themselves, and then the Doctor and Gregor hauled the door open. "Okay, move, move, move" the Doctor urged, and they hurried out onto the catwalk. A wave of heat washed over to them, making it hard to breath, and what looked like an actual _sun_ hung suspended above them, just off to the side. The Doctor rattled off a hasty explanation. "The Eye of Harmony" he shouted over the roar of the star, "Exploding star in the act of becoming a black hole. Time Lord engineering. You rip the star from its orbit; suspend it in a permanent state of decay. This way, quickly!"

There was another creature behind the door ahead, and the female one from before had caught up to them, cutting off their retreat. "There's no way out, we're trapped!" cried Gregor.

Clara rounded on the Doctor and demanded, "You're going to tell me right now. If we're going to die here, you're going to tell me what they are".

"I can't" he stressed. She turned to Laura and Charlotte instead, but they just looked at her apologetically and shook their heads. "It's hard to explain" said Charlotte.

"Just tell me" Clara insisted, "What's the use in secrets now?"

"Secrets protect us" the Doctor told her firmly, "Secrets make us safe".

"We're not safe!"

"Sensor detects animal DNA" announced Gregor's hand-computer; he was scanning the thin burnt humanoid, trying to discover more about it and its weaknesses. "Human core element. Calculating data. Calculating data".

Both Charlotte and the Doctor's eyes widened in alarm; the latter stumbled forwards, shouting "No, no, turn it off!"

"Yorkshire...frustration…Identifiable substance, Charlotte" the computer intoned, in a far too calm and pleasant voice. Charlotte closed her eyes, looking pained…she'd suspected but, to hear it said aloud…she opened her eyes to find the others staring at her in horror, or in the Doctor's case, with guilt. "I'm so sorry" he told her helplessly. She wanted to yell at him, tell him sorry wasn't good enough, but she couldn't make her mouth work.

"That's you…" Clara breathed out, "You…we burn in here, don't we?"

"It isn't just the past leaking out through the time rift. It's the future" the Doctor explained gravely, "It's all my fault; I was supposed to keep you safe but it's happening again, you're going to die again". He spoke without thinking, forgetting that Clara was listening.

"What do you mean, again?" she asked with a bewildered frown, and he winced. Charlotte finally managed to speak again. "We need to get out of here, we need to get past that door!" she asserted, pointing at the second door, the one blocked by the creature with its hand fused to its forehead, "Tricky! You and Gregor are that other creature, it can't form if you aren't touching, come over here and help us get rid of this other one!"

Tricky hesitated, but Gregor snarled, "Just go", straining against the door with all his might. Tricky hurried over, past the Doctor, Charlotte, Laura and Clara; the hand-fused zombie burst into the room and he whacked it with his backpack, hard. The zombie tumbled off the catwalk into the broiling depths below.

"Out, out!" the Doctor roared; Charlotte was way ahead of him, dodging past Tricky and out into the blessedly cool corridor beyond. She looked back to make sure the others were getting out; Laura, good, and Clara, the Doctor – then the conjoined creature broke in. Zombie her was nowhere to be seen, and Charlotte hoped that meant she had successfully interrupted the timeline.

Gregor was pushed aside and narrowly avoided falling off the catwalk. Tricky rushed back to help him, unwilling to leave his brother even despite the years of mistreatment, and knocked the creature off the catwalk. In the process he fell himself, dangling on the edge of oblivion. "Tricky!" Gregor cried, rushing to his rescue. He couldn't bring himself to leave his brother behind either, not this time.

"Don't touch, the timeline will reassert itself!" the Doctor shouted to them, too little too late. Gregor hauled Tricky back up, and before their horrified eyes, the two men suddenly transformed into the conjoined zombie. The Doctor quickly shut the door, grabbed his nearest companion's hand (Clara's) and ran for it. Laura and Charlotte wasted no time dashing after him, both of them glad that all the running was making them both much fitter.

"The engine room" said the Doctor as they approached a door, "The heart of the TARDIS".

They ran out onto what looked like a cliff, with a sheer drop going down into white oblivion. "We're outside" Clara said breathlessly, looking around in bewilderment.

"It just looks like outside, we're still in the TARDIS" Charlotte told her, "And yes, there's no way across" she added.

Clara blinked, having been about to point that very fact out. Foreknowledge, right; she shook her head and turned to the Doctor, asking "So what do we do? Time for a plan. Do you have a plan?"

"Well, no" he admitted with a wince, "No plan. Sorry".

"If you don't have a plan, we're dead!" Clara exclaimed in dismay. They'd been having such a nice day, and suddenly everything had been thrown upside down by this one mistake…it wasn't fair.

"Yes, we are" the Doctor agreed grimly, his eyes boring into hers, "So just tell me".

"Tell you what?" she asked, bewildered. He didn't notice.

"Well, there's no point now. We're about to die. Just tell me who you are" he demanded. Sure, Charlotte and Laura could probably tell him, but he didn't want them to. It was no fun if you had to have the mystery explained to you.

Clara stared at him in consternation. "You know who I am" she protested, looking over at Charlotte and Laura, "You all do".

"I don't" the Doctor declared, getting agitated, "I look at you every single day and I don't understand a thing about you. Why do I keep running into you?" he demanded, wanting answers from Clara herself.

"Doctor, you invited me. You said"-

"Before that" the Doctor interrupted, "I met you in the Dalek Asylum. There was a girl in a shipwreck and she died saving my life, and she was you".

"She really wasn't" Clara shook her head, starting to back away, wondering if the Doctor had somehow lost his mind.

"Victorian London - There was a governess who was really a barmaid, and we fought the Great Intelligence together. She died and it was my fault, and she was _you_ ".

"You're scaring me" Clara protested, stumbling away from him.

He advanced on her, demanding to know, "What are you, eh? Are you a trick, a trap?"

"Stop it!" Laura cried out suddenly, pulling Clara over to her and away from the cliff ledge. The Doctor turned to them, opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Charlotte appeared and slapped him _hard._ "Snap out of it!" she yelled, glowering at him. The Doctor winced in pain, rubbing his sore cheek…he caught sight of Clara's expression and froze. She was scared, scared of _him._ He felt like a monster.

"You…you really don't know, do you" he realised, "You're just Clara…I'm so, so sorry" he apologised, looking at her beseechingly. Clara eyed him warily, but whatever madness had overcome him, the frighteningly manic look was gone. She let him approach and hug her tightly, like he didn't want to let her go.

Charlotte smiled, and then recalled that time was of the essence. She cleared her throat and said, "I hate to break up this sweet moment, but we ought to be jumping into the abyss".

"Of course!" the Doctor smiled, back to his old self, the guilt in his voice from before now tucked away, "Should have asked you two straightaway. This isn't real, it's a snarl" he said confidently.

"What?" Clara asked in bewilderment.

"What does a wounded animal do? It tries to scare everyone away. We're close to the engine. The TARDIS is snarling at us, trying to frighten us off. Charlotte's right, we need to jump" the Doctor announced, peering over the edge of the cliff.

Clara stared at him incredulously. "You're insane" she stated.

"I think we've established that" Charlotte snarked, before adding more reassuringly, "Clara, trust me. We'll fall through a portal into the engine room…which you might want to brace yourself for" she warned the Doctor.

"…How bad?"

"Bad enough" Charlotte sighed, slipping a hand into his and giving it a squeeze. She offered her other hand to Clara, who took it after a moment's hesitation, and held Laura's hand on the other side. The four of them backed up to take a running leap.

"Ready? Geronimo!" the Doctor cried out, and they ran, and leapt…

They fell down two, four, six feet, trying not to scream, before getting a rather jarring landing in a white void. Well, not quite a void…it was filled with the remains of the TARDIS engine, pieces of bent and twisted metal hanging suspended in the air. Charlotte caught the Doctor's eye and winced apologetically; she hadn't known how to tell him what had happened to his beloved ship.

"The heart of the TARDIS" he murmured sadly, as they made their way through the frozen wreckage. "The engine, it's already exploded. It must have been the collision with the salvage ship".

"We're not dead" Clara pointed out.

"She wrapped her hands around the force. Froze it" the Doctor said, talking more to himself than his companions.

"So, so it's safe?"

"Temporary fix" he explained, "Eventually this whole place will erupt. There's no way I can save her now" he said sadly, petting a forlorn piece of wreckage, "She's just always been there for me, and taken care of me, and now it's my turn and I don't know what to do. I think it just…" he trailed off, helplessly, and Clara felt an upwelling of pity. She walked over and held his hand, offering some comfort…but her hand was unusually hot, and he looked down at her palm in surprise…then delight.

Scorched onto her skin were the words, 'BIG FRIENDLY BUTTON', written backwards. "Oh, Clara, oh, you are beautiful. Beautiful fragile human skin", he pressed a kiss to her palm, "Like parchment. Thank you". The Doctor dropped her hand and pulled out his sonic, scanning his surroundings. "The rift in time; all the memories leaking out. I need to find the moment we crashed. I need to find… the music" he grinned, getting a lock on.

They followed the sonic to an echo or memory of the underside of the console room, able to hear music emerging from the glowing white crack in time and space that was running down the wall. "The time rift" the Doctor explained, "Recent past, possible future".

"What are you going to do?"

"Rewrite today, I hope" he replied, pulling the magno-grab cancellation device from his pocket. He etched the letters onto the device with his sonic, and held it up. "I've thrown this through the rift before. I need to make sure this time. Going to take it in there myself. There might be a certain amount of yelling" he warned them.

"It's going to hurt?" asked Clara, concerned.

"Things that end your life often do that" the Doctor said flippantly. He was really hoping this would work, though. He glanced at Charlotte; she gave a small nod, which he returned, and then he prepared to jump into the rift.

"Wait!" Clara exclaimed suddenly, "All those things you said. How we've met before, how I died…"

"Clara, don't worry" he soothed, "You'll forget. Time mends us. It can mend anything".

"What happens to us, though? Do we just stop existing?"

"No, of course not" the Doctor said hastily. Technically, these versions of them would cease existing, but thinking about it like that brought back…sad memories. "You'll be reset, like in a…a video game. None of this will have happened".

"We'll get the shields back up and dematerialise, pronto" Charlotte said confidently, stepping forward and giving the Doctor a hug. "Good luck" she told him. Clara and Laura gave him hugs and wished him luck as well.

"Won't need it" he winked at them, before taking a deep breath and forcing his way through the crack. It hurt like hell and he screamed out, pushing against a seemingly insurmountable force. He finally made it halfway through, into the past-console room, and shouted up at his past-self who had fallen against the railing. "Doctor, Doctor!" I'm from your future. We haven't got long to reset time" he explained, straining. He managed to throw the device out of the crack before vanishing.

It clattered onto the decking and Clara spotted it, grabbing it just like Charlotte had said. "Clara, no, no!" the Doctor cried out, lunging for it, catching it. He could bear the heat and he turned it over in his hands, laughing when he saw the words on it. "Ah ha! Big friendly button!" he grinned, slamming his hand down on it. The magnetic hobble field vanished, and he wasted no time in raising the shields and getting them out of there. Time warped, shifted…and they were remade.

/

Clara wandered into the console room, rubbing at her damp hair. They'd come back from a trip to see Dynamo, and almost gotten caught in a magnetic field or something, but the Doctor had done something clever and fixed it. "I feel exhausted" she remarked, "I feel…"

"Like we've had two days crammed into the space of one" the Doctor suggested. Unlike his companions, he could remember the now non-existent timeline. He shuddered to think what had nearly become of them all.

She gave him an odd look and asked, "Why would you say that?"

"I don't know. I say stuff. Ignore me" he said dismissively, before asking, "Do you feel safe?" He needed to know, that she wasn't scared by him, that she trusted him.

"Of course" she replied.

"Give me a number out of ten. Ten being whoo-hoo, one being argh!"

"You're being weird".

"I need to know if you feel safe. I need to know you're not afraid" the Doctor explained, skirting around spoiler territory. He was a pro by now.

"Of?" she raised an eyebrow.

 _Me_ he thought, but instead replied, "The future. Running away with a spaceman in a box. Anything could happen to you" he pointed out.

"That's what I'm counting on" Clara smiled, "Push the button". She walked off to dry her hair properly. The Doctor turned back to the console, and noticed Charlotte coming down the steps of another corridor. She smiled and said, "Hey".

"Hey. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine, there's just something I don't get. We were getting dragged in by that hobble field and then future you came to toss us the big friendly button, but the first time he did that never happened after the second time was successful, so how could there have been a first attempt at all?"

The Doctor stared at her. "You shouldn't remember that" he said worriedly.

"Oh, I don't" Charlotte reassured him, "I know it happened because I remember seeing the episode, I just don't remember things from my point of view. It's weird" she grimaced a bit, before adding, "So, can you please explain this paradox to me? Preferably with as little techno-babble as possible".

"But that's what makes the explanation fun!" he protested, before trying to explain, "Everything that would have happened today, the salvagers, the zombies, the TARDIS exploding; that was all part of a collapsed timeline. It is possible to experience different events on different timelines, and lose your memories of one or the other".

"But you haven't forgotten" she noted.

"No, and…I owe you an apology. You tried to warn me about the salvagers, and I didn't listen to you. I'm sorry, Charlotte.

She sighed and said, "Well, it never happened, but I accept your apology. So err…how mad did I get?"

"You snubbed me for a while and swore at Gregor".

"Really? Did I kick him in the"-

"Oi!"

Charlotte giggled, and gave him a hug. "Do you miss talking to the TARDIS?" she asked quietly, her head resting against his shoulder.

The Doctor was taken off guard a bit. He swallowed and replied, "…Sometimes. Why?"

"Cos I was thinking, she's got telepathic circuits, and you can get speech-to-text converters…why not a thought-to-speech or thought-to-text converter?" she suggested hopefully, pulling back to look at him. He gave her a small smile, and she was forcibly reminded that he was far older, far cleverer and far wiser than she.

"It's a nice idea" he murmured, "but the TARDIS doesn't think like you and I do, and even if I could sync up a converter to turn her thoughts into an understandable form, it would still come out sounding like gibberish…but thank you for trying to help" he smiled, giving her a kiss on the forehead. Charlotte smiled shyly at him – then quickly covered her mouth as she yawned.

"You've had a long day. Go on, go to bed" the Doctor prompted gently.

"Okay…night, Doctor".

"Goodnight, Charlotte".


	18. Chapter 18 - Sleepover

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Sleepover

Clara was really not happy. She'd gotten up to go to the bathroom, been almost scared out of her wits by a snarling holographic leopard, and then she'd stepped out of her en-suite to find that her bedroom…had completely vanished. She'd looked around the corridors for a bit, but all she found was Charlotte and Laura's bedrooms, and she didn't want to disturb them. She heaved a sigh and headed for the console room. If the Doctor was there, he'd help her, and if he wasn't…she'd have to deal with the TARDIS.

She walked into the console room, in her slippers, pyjamas and a cardigan, and saw no sign of the Doctor. He was hard to miss, so she knew he wasn't in there straightaway. "Where is it?" she asked the TARDIS in a long-suffering tone. The time machine simply beeped at her. "I know what just happened. I went to the bathroom…thank you for the hologram leopard, by the way, an unexpected pleasure…and my bedroom was completely missing!" she exclaimed, before sighing and saying exasperatedly, "Just tell me where you put it".

The only response was another series of beeps, and Clara could only guess at what they meant. "Hang on, I know what the problem is" she said, walking over and sitting in a chair, "Is this the first time he's brought any girls home?" she guessed. More beeping; perhaps it was Clara's imagination, but it sounded almost as if… "Are you laughing?" she asked, getting to her feet. "You are, aren't you? What's so funny?"

The monitor flicked on, and pictures of – according to the caption – previous companions appeared. Most of them were, well, young attractive women. "Blimey…that's um…that's quite a selection. Dear god, that woman is made of legs!" said Clara, upon seeing a picture of a tall, skirt wearing ginger, "That's the most legs on any living human! Ok, not the first then" she acknowledged. She supposed it was silly to think that a man who was over a thousand years old wouldn't have had other friends throughout the years.

The TARDIS beeped smugly at her. "This is the Doctor we're talking about" she said, "He's in a co-dependent relationship with a screwdriver. I mean, if he had to choose between an enormous, complicated machine he could fix with a toolkit and a girl…who would he go with?" she asked rhetorically. The TARDIS beeped once more, and Clara sighed, "Yeah…you're right. Both of them, using the same toolkit. So what do we do?" she asked. They had to work something out, because the Doctor would never choose between them…or would he?

She received no answer from the TARDIS, and sighed. "I give in. I'm gonna go find my dumb bedroom! Do your worst! I can't wait to see your next trick!" she challenged the cantankerous machine, before spinning on her heel and heading off…only to pull up short, seeing another version of her leaning against the wall of the corridor. "Who the hell are you?"

"You, from tomorrow night" the second Clara explained, in a resigned tone. She walked past the first Clara and up to the console, demanding "Ok…where have you put it? Where's my bedroom?"

A third Clara entered the console room from a different corridor, looking stressed. "This isn't funny! I'm exhausted! Where is it?!" she groaned in frustration.

"You think you've got problems?" asked a _fourth_ Clara, leaning over the railing, next to a fifth Clara. "We've got to share a bed" they said in unison.

Clara watched, stunned, as the console room filled up with numerous copies of her, all at the end of their rope and demanding to know where the bedroom was. How many sleepless nights would she have to endure? "Oh god" she murmured…that was it, she needed help. Turning on her heel, she ran down the corridor and back to where her bedroom should have been. It wasn't there, unfortunately, but Laura and Charlotte's bedrooms were. Why didn't the TARDIS hate them?

The light was on in Charlotte's bedroom. Clara hesitated, and then knocked on the door. "Come in" she heard Charlotte call, and opened the door. Charlotte and Laura were in their pyjamas, sitting on Charlotte's bed, and Laura was dabbing at her eyes with a crumpled tissue. "Oh, sorry…is this a bad time?" asked Clara.

Laura looked up and shook her head. "N-no, I just had a bad dream. Are you okay, Clara?" she inquired.

"The TARDIS stole my bedroom" said Clara, "And apparently, she's going to do it again, and again, again…the console room is filled with, well, copies of me, all wanting to know where my – our? – bedroom is, and I don't know what to do".

"You can sleep with me if you want" Laura offered. Clara smiled, but politely declined. "No, it's okay. Thanks for the offer, but I'd really like to sleep in my own bed, no offense".

Charlotte frowned slightly. "Okay, this is getting ridiculous" she said decisively, getting to her feet, "Come on". She strode past Clara, out of her bedroom and down the corridor into the console room, marching right up to the central console. "Hey!" she snapped up at the Time Rotor, "Send all these Clara's back to their proper places in the time-stream, give them _all_ their bedrooms back, including the first Clara, and stop picking on her!"

The TARDIS beeped a few times, but Charlotte wasn't having any of it. "Oh, don't act so innocent, you started this whole mess. Yes, you did!" she insisted, when the TARDIS beeped louder in protest. "You can see all of time and space at once. You already knew that you'd go to that pocket universe to rescue the Doctor, you just kept your doors shut to spite Clara. Besides, even if I gave you the benefit of the doubt and said it wasn't your fault, you're still in the wrong!"

The TARDIS made an ominous creaking sound. "You can't scare me" Charlotte said defiantly, "Everything you try to do is just proving my point for me, so thank you for that. You know why you're in the wrong? Because whatever Clara's done that has you so riled, you are _massively_ over-reacting. You know who gets _this_ defensive and petty over a bit of name-calling? Immature children who haven't learned to take criticism. You're a sentient time machine that's over thousands of years old, and you play selfish pranks and throw tantrums like a _toddler._ Grow up".

Considering everything the TARDIS could do to (and had done, in Clara's case) to get revenge – change the temperature in the shower from hot to freezing cold, twist corridors around so rooms couldn't be found, steal clothes and drinks and lunches when backs were turned – Charlotte was incredibly brave to stand up to the irate time machine.

Much to their surprise, Charlotte's forceful words actually seemed to get through to the TARDIS…she beeped again, a lower tone this time, and the multitude of Clara's around the console room disappeared. "Where did they go?" asked the original Clara, looking around.

"Back to their bedrooms, I hope" Charlotte replied. She eyed the Time Rotor, and said to it, "Play along just this once – one beep for yes, two beeps for no. Did you send all the Clara's back to their bedrooms?"

After a pause, that felt longer than it really was, the TARDIS beeped once.

"And are you going to give _this_ version of Clara her bedroom back?"

Another single beep; Clara sagged in relief. "Oh, thank you…and listen, um, I'm sorry about calling you a name that other day. You're not a cow, you're a good ship" she said, hesitantly patting the edge of the console. The TARDIS let a series of beeps, and the room brightened a bit. Satisfied, the three of them returned to their bedrooms.

Clara walked up to the door marked with a carving of a leaf, and pushed it open. Sure enough, her bedroom was back, just as she'd left it. "Oh, thank goodness" she sighed in relief, walking over and flopping down on the bed. She abruptly sat up again, realising, "I'm not tired".

Laura and Charlotte, who were standing in the doorway, glanced at one another. "I'm not that tired either" Laura admitted…well, she was, but she didn't fancy going to sleep just yet.

"And now I've woken up again..." Charlotte sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Okay, we can either go back to our rooms and try to sleep, or…we could have a sleepover" she suggested. Clara quirked an eyebrow and asked, "A sleepover?"

"Yeah, y'know, have pillow fights, paint each other's nails, talk about boys, that kind of thing" Charlotte shrugged, "It'll be fun!"

Laura beamed and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, good idea!" she agreed, "I've got some nail polish in my room, let me go get it". She stepped back into the corridor…her bedroom was still there, much to her relief. She pulled a pink box full of nail polish from under her bed, and carried it back to Clara's room. The three friends sat or stretched out on Clara's bed, and searched through the colours, picking out their favourites.

Clara chose a deep red colour that reminded her of her mother's leaf; Laura picked out a glittery pink polish; and Charlotte selected a violet shade. "Okay, so I'll paint your nails, Laura, and you paint Clara's, and Clara can paint mine, alright?" she suggested, unscrewing the bottle of bubble-gum pink nail polish. They rested their hands on flat boards – that appeared to come out of nowhere, a peace offering from the TARDIS perhaps.

"Hmm…hey, Laura, out of all the monsters we've faced, which do you think is the scariest?" Charlotte inquired, as she carefully applied the nail polish. Laura replied, "Not sure…probably that ugly skeleton thing from Caliburn House". She shuddered and remarked "I'm glad the Doctor went to drop those aliens off on a different planet before he came back to pick us up". Alec and Emma had given them, as well as Hila, a tour of the mansion whilst they waited for the Doctor. The house seemed a lot more welcoming in the daylight.

"I actually looked that species up in the library afterwards" Charlotte remembered, "What were they called again? Erm…err…hang on…I can't remember how to pronounce it, or what language it was in, but the name means 'melted face', apparently, so it's fitting".

"I think the scariest one was that Ice Warrior, Skaldak" said Clara, "He was going to destroy the whole Earth just for revenge".

"Yeah, that happens a lot, unfortunately" Charlotte sighed, "Aliens try to destroy the Earth for all sorts of reasons – profit, recolonization, executing an escaped criminal…"

Clara raised an eyebrow at that last one; it seemed rather far-fetched. Then again, she was talking to two women from a different universe, in a sentient time machine disguised as a police telephone box. Maybe she needed to redefine her parameters. "You guys have seen more aliens than me, though, haven't you? Any I should be looking out for?" she inquired, half-jokingly.

"Definitely the Daleks" Laura replied immediately, "They're awful, Clara. All they want is to exterminate anything and everything that isn't a Dalek, and they don't understand mercy at all".

"No, I think they do, cos they'll ask for it if they're desperate" Charlotte interjected, "But they were genetically engineered to not feel mercy towards other species. When the Daleks are around, about the only things you can do are run, hide and pray that the Doctor can stop them".

"What do they look like?" asked Clara.

"Like giant metal pepper-pots studded with orbs, a gunstick, a plunger and an eyestalk with a blue light in it. Oh, and their voices are modulated, so they sound kind of like this" said Charlotte, pinching her nose, " _The Daleks are supreme! Exterminate! Exterminate!"_

Laura and Clara couldn't help but giggle. "They don't really sound much like that" Laura admitted, "But they're pretty unmistakable. I just hope we don't run into any" she added worriedly.

"Aaand you jinxed it" Charlotte deadpanned.

"Oops".

"Just kidding…hopefully…okay, there are your nails done. Shall I do yours now, Clara, or do you want to do mine?"

"I'll do yours" Clara offered, picking up the bottle of violet polish, "So which alien are you most scared of?" she asked curiously.

"Hmm…well, the Daleks are dangerous, no argument there, but I think the scariest monsters are the ones you can't really defend yourself against, like the Weeping Angels, or the Vashta Nerada".

"The what, or the what?"

"Oh, Weeping Angels are like…well, they're angels, but with fangs, and they're made of stone. Only when you're looking at them, though" Laura explained, "As soon as you blink, they move. It's called a quantum lock".

"They can't move very far, then" Clara guessed, picturing an angel inching forwards each time its victim blinked. Charlotte shook her head and explained, "No, you don't understand. Weeping Angels are _fast._ Faster than you can blink, and they can mess with the lights. They feed on potential energy, you see, all the days you would have lived, if they hadn't caught you and sent you back in time. Their usual MO is to let their victims live to death".

"Usual MO?"

"Well, sometimes they break your neck" Laura began. Charlotte gave her a pointed look and interrupted, "I wasn't gonna mention that part".

"Oh, sorry" Laura said contritely.

Clara grimaced slightly. "I'll never look at an angel statue the same way again" she muttered.

"Not just angel statues – not just statues in fact. Apparently they can also possess other statues, and images. 'An image of an Angel, becomes itself an Angel'" Charlotte recited, "Mind you, if you do get caught by a Weeping Angel, you're at least alive. The Vashta Nerada are even worse; they're these swarms, like shadows, and they strip you to the bone in seconds. Even the Doctor doesn't know a way to fight them, and they hatch out of trees, so they could be on any planet that has trees".

"Yeah, but not Earth, right?" Clara asked worriedly. Charlotte grimaced and replied, "Well, y'know, sometimes folks go missing in the woods…"

"Oh, my stars…"

"Err, Clara? The nail polish is dripping" Charlotte prompted, drawing Clara's attention to the fact that drops of polish were landing on the board and Charlotte's finger. "Oh, sorry, here" she said, handing Charlotte a tissue to wipe the polish away. She hesitated, and then said, "When…when my mum died, the police told us there'd been a shooting at the mall she was shopping at…but I heard stories, about the shop window dummies coming to life…my mum was killed by aliens, wasn't she?"

Charlotte swallowed and answered, "Yeah…they're called Autons".

Laura leaned forward and gave Clara a hug, taking care not to wipe her slightly damp nails on her friend. "We're really sorry about your mum, Clara".

Clara smiled, rubbing the finger she normally wore her mother's wedding ring on. "Thank you...I'm actually kind of glad I know the truth now. It won't bring her back, but…" she trailed off.

"It's nice to know regardless" Charlotte murmured understandingly, "We get you" she smiled. Clara returned the smile, and finished off painting Charlotte's nails. Laura was just getting started on _her_ nails, when there was a knock on the door. Puzzled, Laura called, "Come in?"

The Doctor put his head around the door. "Hi – sorry, I saw the light on and I thought you'd be asleep by now. Are you alright?"

"We're alright" Laura smiled reassuringly, "We're just painting our nails; what do you think?" she asked, showing off her sparkly pink polish.

"Very nice…" the Doctor complimented, in that uncertain way most men used when they were asked a question involving cosmetics. Charlotte suddenly got an idea to cheer them all up, and asked, "Hey, Doctor, can I ask you something?"

"You just did" he pointed out, teasingly, stepping further into the room and closing the door behind him.

"Very funny; but anyway, you've been to the Tomb of Rassilon, right?"

"Yeah, four times over, in fact…but you knew that already" he said knowingly.

Clara frowned, puzzled. "Erm, sorry, tiny bit lost here. Who's Rassilon?"

The Doctor explained, "Rassilon founded the whole of Time Lord society and gave us the ability to travel safely in time, along with Omega and The Other".

"The other what?" Clara asked blankly.

"No, just, 'The Other'" the Doctor corrected her; she gave him a sceptical look and asked, "Who calls themselves 'the Other'?"

"Well, maybe that's not what he called himself" Charlotte suggested with a grin, "Maybe he was so obscure, the Time Lords just said, 'The founders of our society are Rassilon, Omega, and err, the other one".

She, Laura and Clara snickered, and then Charlotte added, "But like I was saying, in the Tomb of Rassilon, there was the Ring of Rassilon, and there's also a Harp, Coronet, Sash, Rod, and Key of Rassilon…so, where did the Time Lords keep everything else he owned? Was there a Museum of Rassilon? Or a restored House of Rassilon? I mean, he must have lived somewhere. Where else would he keep his Laboratory of Rassilon, or his Kitchen of Rassilon, which contained the fabled Microwave of Rassilon…" at this point Charlotte dissolved into giggles, along with Laura and Clara.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at them, struggling to keep a straight face. "Oi! First off, the third founder really was known as 'the Other', and no, I don't know why he called himself that. Secondly, Rassilon didn't name _everything_ he owned after himself. There's no such thing as the Microwave of Rassilon, or the Fridge of Rassilon, or the…the Spoon of Rassilon…" he gave up the fight and started laughing right alongside them.

Finally, they got their breath back, and Clara asked, "So, what about the other two, Omega and err, the Other; what happened to them?"

"Well, Omega was assumed dead for centuries but it turned out he'd become trapped in an anti-matter universe and gone absolutely insane, and nobody knows what happened to the Other" the Doctor explained, "Some stories say he threw himself into the Looms to be reconstituted, others that Rassilon murdered him…or her…not sure which gender they were, to be honest. Probably male, but there are few surviving records of the Other. He's a mystery even to us Time Lords".

"Are you the Other?" Charlotte inquired curiously.

"No, I'm the Doctor".

"Ha, ha; seriously though, are you the reincarnation of the Other?"

His companions looked at him curiously, expectantly…the Doctor smiled a bit and replied, "…I'm the Doctor".

They groaned. "Really?" Laura grumbled exasperatedly.

"Really. I know you're curious about me, but…there are some secrets I can never share. Not with anyone" he explained. The look in his eyes was more than enough for them to not press the issue. "Why are you awake at this time anyway?" he inquired, sitting on the edge of the bed besides Clara.

"Err, well, I had a bad dream and I was telling Charlotte about it, and then Clara came and asked us to help her with, um…" Laura hesitated, not sure if she should bring it up.

Clara stepped in and explained, "The TARDIS was playing a prank on me in the console room, so I asked these two for help and…Charlotte talked to the TARDIS and sorted it out".

"Made myself a target, more like" Charlotte muttered under her breath; but not quietly enough to escape the Doctor's hearing. "A target for what? What did you say to the old girl, exactly?"

"Err…I sort of told her she was acting like a toddler, and to grow up" she admitted awkwardly, not quite meeting the Doctor's gaze. He stared at her for a moment, disbelieving.

"Oh, Charlotte...Why didn't you come and find me?"

"I thought she'd just twist the corridors around so we never found you" Charlotte explained, "And besides, I had to act! I was filled with righteous indignation. No-one messes with my friends, not even sentient time machines" she declared defiantly, before sighing, "I'm doomed, aren't I?"

"I'll talk to the old girl" the Doctor reassured her, "Make sure she doesn't bother you…but tell me if she does, okay?"

"I was planning to anyway, so don't worry".

"Why doesn't she like me?" Clara asked plaintively, "Because I swear, she had it in for me even before I called her names. Is it because I called her a snog box? Cos that was just a joke!"

The Doctor wasn't sure what to say; he had no idea why his time machine would take such a large disliking to Clara. "Err…I don't think that's it. Look, I told you, she's just slow to trust…"

Clara huffed and insisted, "Oh come on, Doctor. There's slow to trust, and then there's just being malicious. Do either of you know why she has it in for me?" she asked Laura and Charlotte, who both shrugged.

Laura finished applying the coat of nail varnish to Clara's nails, and inquired, "Um, Doctor, I was wondering…what's it like to meet historical figures? I mean, is it more exciting than meeting regular people?"

"Regular people?" he repeated with a smile, "There's no such thing. I have met every famous historical figure you can think of, and do you know which ones were the most exciting to meet? The ones who weren't famous at the time, who were still brimming with all that potential; when I meet someone new, I never know for sure if they're going to be famous one day, but I know they couldbe. _That's_ the exciting part" he explained, smiling at them.

Charlotte blew on her nails, and asked, "How come you like humans so much? Not that I'm complaining, of course, but…I mean, there must be thousands of Earth like planets and humanoid species in the universe. What makes us so special?"

"Well, I didn't always think much of humans" the Doctor admitted, "When I first left Gallifrey, I looked for a planet to lay low on, so I could familiarise myself with the TARDIS. Susan suggested Earth, so we landed there in the 1960's…which is when she took the form of the police box. Honestly, at first I thought you were like children".

"Well, that doesn't sound patronising at all" Clara said sarcastically, "So, what made you change your mind?"

"Nothing" he smiled, "You _are_ children; compared to other species, compared to mine, you're children…and one day I finally realised how _brilliant_ that was; it makes you curious, you're always asking unanswerable questions, always exploring where you shouldn't be, getting into trouble and just being so… _human._ You started out as mindless little primates on one lonely rock, but you grew and you persevered and you aimed for the stars. No other species has done what yours accomplishes, in all the history of the universe. How could I not be impressed by that?"

His companions smiled at him, moved by his words. Charlotte got up off the bed and walked around; the Doctor stood up and pulled her into a hug. Soon Laura joined in, then Clara, minding her newly painted nails. The four of them stayed like that for a minute or two, sharing a warm group hug, and then Laura yawned. "Mm, sorry…" she murmured drowsily.

"S'alright…" Charlotte yawned as well…she hadn't realised how tired she was. "Maybe we should go to bed".

"Good idea. Come on, you two, let Clara go to sleep" the Doctor suggested, gently disengaging himself from the embrace. Laura and Charlotte bid goodnight to Clara, and stumbled back to their rooms. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and advised Clara, "Hold out your hands, palms down".

Puzzled, she did so, and he flashed the sonic over her fingernails, drying them in an instant. "Good night, Clara" he smiled, kissing her on the forehead…and subtly planting a subconscious message, _Sleep,_ so she wouldn't have trouble dozing off. Her eyelids were already drooping when he stepped back, and she could only murmur a slurred, "G'night", as she crawled under the covers, before she was out like a light.

He smiled, and went to say goodnight to his other two companions…hopefully Charlotte wouldn't mind him dipping into her subconscious for just a second; it wasn't like he'd see anything…and walked off down the corridor. He'd have a word with the TARDIS and then…maybe he'd have a quick snooze himself. It had been a while since he last slept, after all.


	19. Chapter 19 - The Crimson Horror Pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

The Crimson Horror – Part One

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and looked around at the cobblestone alley they'd landed in. It was the right year at least…not so much the right place. "Okay, so. Not London 1893" he admitted, "Yorkshire 1893. Near enough".

It was Laura's turn to pick a destination; she'd picked Victorian London, so they could visit the famous Crystal Palace, but it didn't look like that was happening. "Never mind" she sighed, stepping out of the TARDIS. She, Charlotte and Laura were all dressed for the times, their hair done up…they'd all worn dresses that reached _just_ past their ankles, but didn't drag on the ground. No sense in tripping over since they'd undoubtedly end up running.

"You're making a habit of this, getting us lost" Clara remarked lightly as they headed out of the alley.

"Sorry" the Doctor sighed, "It's much better than it used to be. Ooh, I once spent a hell of a long time trying to get a gobby Australian to Heathrow Airport".

"What for?" asked Clara, mystified.

"Search me. Anyway"- whatever he was about to say, was cut off by a scream. "Brave heart, girls" the Doctor grinned, running off towards the source of the noise. His companions rolled their eyes at each other and chased off after him. A little ways away, a small crowd was gathering at the edge of a canal, whispering and pointing at something floating in the water. They squeezed through and looked over the edge, seeing a body floating in the water, the skin bright red.

Local policemen tried to usher everyone away from the scene; one man refused to budge, shouting "It's another one. Don't you see? Another victim. Why won't any one of you listen?" he demanded desperately. The Doctor looked at his companions, particularly Laura; this was supposed to be her trip, after all. She nodded, as did Clara and Charlotte…he smiled and stepped forward, saying "We'll listen".

The man looked grateful; he led them away from the canal, and introduced himself. "My name is Edmund Thursday. Pleased to meet you" he greeted, shaking the Doctor's hand.

"Likewise!" the Doctor grinned, "I'm the Doctor, and these are my…apprentices…Clara, Laura and Charlotte. Don't worry, whatever this is, they can handle it" he assured the man. After all, his Victorian sensibilities might make him think this wasn't 'work for a woman' or something.

"What happened to that person in the canal?" Clara inquired, curious and worried. Whatever it was, judging from the state of the body, it wasn't human. Edmund looked grave; he beckoned for them to follow him, and on the way, he explained what had happened so far. "It started a few months ago, bodies turning up in the canal…as you saw, their skin solid and devil red. What's more, none of the victims drowned. According to the coroner, they'd all died _before_ they ended up in the river".

He showed them a factory set apart from the town, with no sign of any workers visible through the large front gates. "Mrs Winifred Gillyflower" he explained, "An astonishing woman. Prize winning chemist and mechanical engineer… So why…?"

"Why has she decided to open up a match factory in her old home town" the Doctor finished for him. Edmund nodded, and informed them, "And no one who ever goes to live there ever seems to come out. Come on; they should have taken the body to the morgue by now. Perhaps if we examine it…"

The undertaker, Amos, showed them the body of a woman. "Same as the rest" Edmund sighed regretfully, "All dead from causes unknown and their flesh glowing".

"Like something manky in a coal cellar. They keep turning up in t' canal" Amos remarked in a gruff, less than respectful tone, "The Crimson Horror".

"Ooh, good name" the Doctor said appreciatively, looking up from the body, "Hey, that's good, isn't it? The Crimson Horror. I wonder what it is…" He pulled a magnifying glass out of his pocket and looked the body over. He stopped on the face and asked, "Do you know the old Romany superstition? That the eye of a dead person retains an image of the last thing it sees. Nonsense, of course, unless the chemical composition of the body has been massively corrupted" he said, handing the glass to Clara to have a look.

There was an image in the dead woman's eyes, of an elderly woman…the Doctor wiped the skin with his white glove, and a crimson residue was left behind. He used Amos' chemistry lab to determine the composition. "Wow, this is nasty. An organic poison. A sort of venom. And you think it's connected to Sweetville?" he asked Edmund.

"I do".

"Well then, we need a plan" he decided, getting to his feet. He and Edmund left the morgue, and found his companions waiting for him out in the sunlight, which was even more pleasant after being inside the rather dank and gloomy building.

Before the Doctor could open his mouth, Clara stepped forward and asked, "So, what's the plan?"

To give him credit, the Doctor barely hesitated before replying "Something's going on inside that factory, and we need to find out what it is. So, we're going undercover" he grinned at them, before turning to Edmund and asking, "How do people normally get into the factory?"

Edmund explained that Mrs Gillyflower gave sermons at the local chapel, encouraging people to come and live in a model community she was building. They'd then be led inside the factory, but he had no idea what happened to them in there…only that they never came out. "Well, that isn't ominous at all" Charlotte quipped sarcastically, before inquiring, "What if they try to capture us?"

The Doctor eyed her, realising that she and Laura might already know the outcome of this adventure. He'd promised himself to listen if they ever asked to _not_ go on an adventure, he'd do the same for Clara even though she had no reason to be cautious…but neither of them had mentioned anything by now. "Do you think that's likely?" he asked her, trying to gauge how much she knew.

Charlotte shrugged non-committedly. "It might be better if Laura and I stayed behind, y'know, just in case" she suggested.

Clara frowned a bit suspiciously and asked, "Why? What do you think happens in there?"

"Nothing the four of us can't handle" Charlotte smiled, "So long as two of said four are on the outside…trust me, it'd come in handy…" she trailed off and bit her lip, looking torn about something, before taking a deep breath and nodding resolutely.

"Okay" the Doctor nodded, coming to a decision, "Clara and I will go in first, and if we're not back by tomorrow morning, come and find us…but be careful, yeah?"

"Obviously; where do you want us to wait for you in the meantime?"

Edmund cleared his throat and volunteered, "Ah, you're welcome to stay with my wife and I for the night. She's such a kind soul, always offering a room to passing travellers…" he smiled fondly, making the others smile in return.

"That's very kind of you, Mr Thursday" Laura replied politely, "But are you sure we should let them go in alone?" she asked Charlotte worriedly.

"Laura, sometimes, you've got to know when to pick your battles. If something _did_ happen to the Doctor and Clara, and given his track record it's highly likely something will"-

"Oi!"

"I'm just saying, it's better to have someone on the outside, y'know, as a back-up" Charlotte explained her reasoning. She had…other reasons, for wanting to stay behind, but she didn't mention them…mostly because they wouldn't be believed or understood…or allowed.

The Doctor clapped his hands together, excited. "Infiltration and espionage, what could be better, eh?" he asked cheerfully, putting an arm around Clara's shoulders. "Geronimo".

/

Later on, Clara and the Doctor stood before Mrs Gillyflower herself, the elderly woman eyeing them appraisingly. "Doctor and Mrs Smith" she smiled at them, using their hastily chosen aliases (Clara had given the Doctor an odd look when he'd called her his wife…he'd sheepishly muttered that it was the first thing that came to his head). "Oh yes, you'll do very nicely" she nodded in satisfaction.

The Doctor beamed and did a great imitation of a Yorkshire accent, saying "Oh, grand. Smashing. Eh, the missis and I couldn't be more chuffed, could we, love?" he asked Clara.

She simply smiled and nodded; he'd warned her beforehand not to try and pull off the accent, and she _knew_ her accents were terrible. Gillyflower led them down between a row of terraced houses, all looking very neat and prim and proper. "Sweetville will provide you with everything you need. You won't have to worry about a thing ever again" she explained to them.

"The name, Sweetville…" Clara ventured.

Gillyflower paused and turned to her. "Yes?"

"Why not name it after yourself?" she inquired, "After all, it is your creation".

"Gillyflower-town" the Doctor suggested brightly, "Gillyflower-land! You could have roller coasters".

"It is named in tribute to my partner" Gillyflower explained.

"Your late partner?" the Doctor hazarded a guess.

"No, my… _silent_ partner" she smiled, patting her chest, "Mister Sweet likes to keep himself to himself. Shall we move on?" she suggested, leading them to one of the houses.

"Who lives here?" the Doctor inquired.

"Oh, names don't matter here" she said dismissively, "All you need to know is we only recruit the brightest and the best" she smiled, opening the door. The Doctor and Clara caught a glimpse of a bell jar, housing a man and woman sitting at a tea table, both of them stiff and frozen; that was all the warning they had before they were set upon by well-dressed men and women, who grabbed and chloroformed them, and knocked them out…

Then the Doctor jerked awake, gasping, finding himself in underclothes and dangling helplessly on a rack with several other unconscious men. He struggled, but he couldn't pull himself up before they were all submerged into a red liquid, which _burned…_ he could feel it sticking to his skin, hardening around him painfully, stiffening his movements…The rack was lifted up and the men were removed, though the Doctor was left lying at one end, in the 'reject pile'.

Mrs Gillyflower moved along the rows of preserved people. "Like pretty maids all in a row" she smiled at the frozen women, including Clara, "The process improves with every attempt. Mister Sweet is such a clever old thing. Oh, into the canal with the rejects, Ada" she told her blind daughter.

"Yes" Ada acquiesced, feeling her way forward towards the bodies of the people who hadn't survived the process. She wasn't expecting one of them to grab her hand, and gasped, "Ma"-

The Doctor squeezed her hand, desperate for her not to give him away…she spared him, which he was grateful for, even if she did end up chaining him up in a room. "Sometimes the preservation process goes wrong" she explained to him quietly, "Only Mister Sweet knows why, and only Mama is allowed to talk to Mister Sweet. But if you're very good, you can stay here. You'll be my secret. My special monster. Shush".

Chained up, barely able to move, and without a plan, all the Doctor could do was hope that Charlotte and Laura had a plan…because, he now knew for certain, they'd stayed behind for a reason.

/

The next morning, Charlotte awoke early, but could already hear someone moving around downstairs. For a moment she was tempted to go back to sleep, but then she remembered where they were and what needed to be done. Yawning and stretching, she sat up in the spare bed that she'd shared with Laura, and shook her friend awake. "Come on, Laura, we can't lie awake today. We've got friends to save".

"Hmm…okay, I'm up" Laura nodded sleepily. The two of them scrambled somewhat reluctantly from the warmth of the bed, dressed quickly, and made their way downstairs. Edmund was standing in the living room by the window; he jumped, startled, when they came into the room. "Oh! Forgive me, Miss Richards, Miss Seamer. I thought you were still asleep" he explained.

"Well, we've got a busy day ahead…they haven't come back, have they?" Charlotte asked knowingly.

Edmund sighed and shook his head. "No; I waited for them all night, but there's no sign of your friends. I do not wish to alarm you, but…I fear the worst".

"You've been up all night?" Laura frowned in concern, "You must be exhausted".

"No, no, I'm…" he yawned, "Quite fine, I assure you".

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Quite…well, Mr Thursday, you and your wife have been very kind to us. If we might trouble you for three more things?" she inquired hopefully. He nodded, so she continued, "Breakfast, for a start. Then a carriage to London, to 13 Paternoster Row, and"-

"London?" Edmund interjected in surprise, "It will take you two days to reach the city, let alone one street".

"Hence the early start" Charlotte nodded, "Unless…you know a quicker way?"

"Well, yes" he nodded, "If you were to travel to York first, and take the train to King's Cross station, then take a carriage on from there…though if I might ask, why is it you wish to go to London?"

"We have friends there; friends of the Doctor, also. We'll need their help to rescue him, Clara, and probably everyone else too. Which brings me to the third thing…please, Mr Thursday, don't go in search of the Doctor and Clara. It isn't safe in there" she implored him.

Edmund frowned. "Surely you can't expect me to just leave a fellow man in danger?"

Charlotte smiled at him and replied, "We appreciate the thought, really; but you don't know the Doctor like we do. If he was captured, then whatever Mrs Gillyflower is doing, it's worse than we thought. If you went in alone, you'd be risking leaving your wife a widow. If you took her with you, you'd be risking _her._ With all due respect, sir, I'd wager that neither of those outcomes is exactly agreeable".

Just then, Effie herself entered the room. "Oh! You're awake already? Has there been any sign of your friends?" she asked, sounding genuinely concerned. They were both such nice people, which only cemented Charlotte's determination to save them further in her mind. After all, what was the point of having foreknowledge if you didn't tweak it now and again?

"No, sadly not…Miss Richards fears that they might be in need of rescue, and she wishes to travel to London, to recruit friends to help".

"Really?" asked Effie, "Well then, I'd better get some food in you. I'll give you some for the journey as well" she decided, heading to the kitchen.

"Thank you, Mrs Thursday" Laura called after her, before turning to Edmund and saying, "And thank _you_ as well. We really do appreciate this, Charlotte and I".

"Mm, yes, and we're sorry for troubling you. We're happy to pay you for your services…" Charlotte began, patting the pouch sewn onto her dress, disguised as part of the fabric…she'd had a good reason to choose _this_ dress in particular, even if she did have to search for hours to find a suitable outfit in time. The TARDIS hadn't taken her 'toddler' comments well…and the mess with the shower yesterday meant that she hadn't been able to wash her hair…she hoped she didn't look too much of a mess.

Edmund shook his head. "No, no, it's no trouble, my dear. Save the money for the carriages and train…and take care not to lose it to highwaymen" he warned gravely.

"We will. If you wouldn't mind finding us a carriage, after breakfast…"

"Yes, yes, of course…are you certain these friends of yours can help us?"

Charlotte smiled. "Trust us, Mr Thursday. This sort of thing is very familiar to them…"

/

Later that very morning, they had managed to board the train to London, and were sitting beside each other in the carriage. "Charlotte?" Laura called softly, eyeing her best friend as she stared out of the window at the rolling countryside.

"Yeah?" replied Charlotte, not looking round.

"Why did…why did you tell Mr Thursday not to go into the factory?"

Charlotte turned to Laura and raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think? To save his life! And Effie's, of course" she added.

"Oh, right…but um, won't that change the timeline?"

"Yeah, for the better" Charlotte nodded, "Besides, we've already changed the timeline just by being here, and nothing's happened yet".

"Yeah, but…I thought if you knew what was going to happen, it was a fixed point…didn't we promise we'd ask the Doctor about this sort of thing?" Laura asked doubtfully.

"Well, the Doctor's not here…besides, what's the point of having foreknowledge if you don't use it from time to time?"

"But what if it's like with Rose and her dad? What if you make the Reapers come back?"

"The Doctor's fought Reapers before".

"No, he got eaten" Laura corrected, frowning, "Pete stopped them, by dying".

"Look, it's fine" Charlotte said confidently, "I worked it out last night. In the _episode,_ Edmund dying is what gets his brother to alert Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax, just like Pete had to die to stop the Reapers…but now _we're_ here, we're on our way to get them instead. So there's no reason, as far as maintaining the timeline is concerned, for them to die…so it's not a paradox if I tell them not to go into the factory. It's just…part of the alternate timeline we're creating".

Laura frowned and admitted, "I don't like this, Charlotte. It seems like a really bad idea…"

Charlotte sighed and looked out the window again. "There's nothing I can do about it now" she pointed out. Laura fell silent again, and Charlotte bit her lip nervously. Had she made a mistake? Would her actions summon the Reapers?

 _No!_ She told herself firmly, _The timeline has already changed, and nothing's happened. If they live, it's just part of the changed timeline. It's not a paradox! They don't need to die in this version of events. I'm right, I know I am…_

/

Strax grumbled under his breath when Madame Vastra sent him to get the door; he'd been about to test out a new incendiary device he'd been building, just a little one, the most it would do would level a wall…but Madame Vastra had refused to let him detonate inside the house, and then someone had started knocking on the door and she'd sent him to find out who it was. They were still knocking now. "I'm coming, puny human!" he called crossly, yanking the door open.

Standing on the front step were the two boys…or were they girls, he could never tell the difference…that had stayed with them at Christmas last year. The brown haired one said bluntly, "We need your help".

The blond haired one then added, "The Doctor is in trouble!"

"Strax, who is at the…Miss Richards?" Vastra asked in surprise, coming up behind the Sontaron and seeing the Doctor's companions there, "Miss Seamer? What are you doing here?"

Charlotte sighed impatiently. "Hello Madame Vastra, long story, the Doctor and a friend of ours were captured and we need your help to rescue them. So, can you get Jenny, please?"

Madame Vastra blinked at her, before telling Strax to fetch Jenny and beckoning them both into the house. Laura started to step inside, but Charlotte tensed and insisted, "We don't have time". She didn't want to leave the Doctor and Clara, especially the Doctor, in that place for any longer than necessary; she didn't know if Clara had been aware whilst she was being preserved, she got the sense that the woman had not, but the Doctor _had_ been aware, and in pain, and she was his companion now, she had to do more than just feel sorry for him, she had to help him.

"Then be swift in your explanation" the Silurian retorted, walking away and leaving the door open. Laura and Charlotte looked at one another; the latter sighed, and went inside the house. They needed the Paternoster Gang's help, and not just because of what happened in the episode, but they would have to explain as much as they could, although Charlotte would prefer it if they could have explained everything on the train ride back.

They went to the drawing room, finding Vastra, Jenny and Strax waiting for them. "It's so good to see you again" Jenny smiled at them, the pair had been great company for the few weeks they'd stayed there last Christmas; it had been nice to have other humans in the house, even ones from the future…and a different universe. "What's goin' on?"

"We were going to Victorian London, to see the Great Exhibition, but we ended up in Yorkshire instead, in this little town called Alderthorpe" Laura began to explain, "There was a body in the canal, the skin was bright red, and stiff; we met a man who told us about this match factory, called Sweetville, how people went in but no one ever came out".

Charlotte continued, "The Doctor went in undercover because the bodies in the canal seemed to be connected to the factory, but Laura and I stayed behind in case something happened, and it did. He didn't come back last night, so I think he's been captured".

"How d'you know they didn't end up in the canal?" Jenny asked worriedly.

"I – we're just hoping" Charlotte said vaguely; she and Laura tried not to let on too much about their foreknowledge.

Madame Vastra shook her head, eyeing them closely. "No, you _know._ I can see it in your eyes…you've seen this happen before".

Laura and Charlotte looked at one another, unsurely, and back at the Silurian. "Um, I don't know what you mean…" Laura began uncertainly.

"We're not supposed to give you spoilers" Charlotte explained, "Why can't you just trust us?"

Vastra looked at her for a long moment, and then nodded. "Had you a plan in mind?" she asked.

"I had a thing…Mrs Gillyflower, the owner of Sweetville, apparently she only recruits the 'brightest and the best' for her community. She holds recruitment drives in the local chapel" Charlotte began to explain.

Strax interrupted them, declaring to Vastra, "You may rely on me, ma'am".

She stared at him a moment and remarked, "I believe she was, in fact, referring to herself, Laura and Jenny".

"I see" Strax said in distaste, "If these weak and fleshy boys are to represent us, I strongly recommend the issuing of scissor grenades, limbo vapour and triple blast brain splitters".

"What for?" asked Vastra.

"Just generally. Remember, we are going to the North" he said ominously.

Charlotte gave him a mock offended look and said, "Oi! We're _from_ the North".

"…Oh, sorry, boy" he apologised.

"Eh, close enough".

/

They returned to Alderthorpe post-haste; Strax was asked to wait behind with the carriage, so that he wouldn't alarm the townsfolk with his strange appearance and belligerent attitude; much to his irritation. Laura and Charlotte led the others back to Mr Thursday's house; the latter knocked on the door, and waited until it was opened by Effie. "Hello, Mrs Thursday. We're back, is your husband in?"

"Yes, yes, come on in" she smiled, ushering them all inside to the drawing room, where Edmund was waiting for them. "This is Madame Vastra, and her maid Jenny. Madame, Jenny, this is Mr and Mrs Thursday. Mr Thursday is the man who first warned us about Sweetville" Charlotte explained. She was smiling, feeling very pleased with herself. Her gamble had obviously paid off, Edmund and Effie were still alive and well, and there wasn't a Reaper in sight!

Effie made tea, and they discussed their next plan of action. It was decided that Edmund would show Madame Vastra to the morgue, so she could have a look at the victims of 'the crimson horror', as the locals were calling it, whilst Effie took the three young women to the chapel, where Mrs Gillyflower was holding a recruitment drive that very afternoon.

They sat through a long and rather boring (especially to Charlotte, who was resisting the urge to roll her eyes for most of it) sermon by Winifred Gillyflower, the woman going on and on about moral decay and the coming apocalypse. "Bradford, that Babylon of the moderns with its crystal light and its glitter, all aswarm with the wretched ruins of humanity" she ranted passionately, "Men and women crushed by the devil's juggernaut".

The congregation murmured and nodded in agreement. "And moral turpitude can destroy the most delicate of lives. Believe me, I know. I know" Gillyflower continued, drawing back a curtain to reveal a young woman, scarring on her face, her eyes milky. Charlotte tensed, glancing at Laura to see that she was frowning. "Me own daughter, blinded in a drunken rage by my late husband. Her once beautiful eyes, pale and white as mistletoe berries" Gillyflower lamented. They both knew she was lying, and it sickened them.

Ada stood up from her chair and tapped her way over to a covered board. "And what, my friends, is your story?" Gillyflower addressed the congregation, "Will you be found wanting when the End of Days is come, when judgement rains down upon us all? Or will you be preserved against the coming apocalypse? Do not despair. I offer a way out. There is a different path. Sweetville!" she cheered, as her daughter pulled away the cloth, revealing an illustration of the ideal community; the factory with rows of terraced homes, a chapel and bandstand and gardens.

"Join us. Join us in this shining city on the hill" she implored them, before starting to sing, "Bring me my bow of burning gold. Bring me my arrows of desire…"

After the hymn, many in the audience (including Jenny, Laura and Charlotte) got in line to sign up for a place in Sweetville. Gillyflower smiled at Jenny as she approached the pulpit. "You wish to join us, my dear?" she asked.

"With me cousins, if it's all the same to you ma'am" Jenny said modestly.

"Let me see them" Gillyflower urged, and Jenny stepped aside. The elderly woman looked Laura and Charlotte up and down, the two of them doing their best to smile and seem polite. At last, Gillyflower nodded and remarked, "Oh, yes, dears. You three will do very nicely".

They gave her fake smiles, and signed their names in the book.

/

Edmund had to attend to some other business before he showed her the morgue, so Vastra took the opportunity to return to the carriage and fetch her 'butler', Strax. "If our stratagem succeeds, Jenny, Charlotte and Laura will infiltrate deep into the black heart of this curious place".

"And how will they locate the Doctor?"

"To find him, they need only ignore all keep-out signs, go through every locked door, and run towards any form of danger that presents itself".

"Business as usual, then?"

"Yes, business as usual".

/

Ada made her way up a staircase, tucked away in the factory, carrying a plate of food. She opened the hatch at the bottom of a metal door at the top of the stairs, and slid the plate through. "Did you think I'd forgotten you, dear monster, hmm?" A crash and banging noise emerged from within, and Ada swiftly took her leave.

/

Edmund came to find Madame Vastra and Strax, talking beside their carriage. "Mrs Thursday, allow me to introduce my butler, Mr Strax" the Silurian said calmly.

"Sir" Strax greeted, giving the man a traditional Sontaron salute. Edmund stared at him, bewildered and bit nervous. Then he seemed to realise he was being rude, and cleared his throat.

"Pleased to err, to make your acquaintance" he said nervously, before hesitantly inquiring, "Forgive me, I don't wish to be rude…but your err…your neck is…" he trailed off, unable to think of how to ask about Strax's neck, or rather lack thereof.

"My butler suffers from an unfortunate deformity" Vastra swiftly cut in, before Strax could launch into a tirade about how the mighty Sontaron race was far superior in terms of biology and physical strength to the weakling humans, or some other nonsense, "We do not like to speak of it".

"Oh, of course, my apologies. I came to tell you that I've sorted my other affairs for the day, so I can show you the way to the morgue when you're ready".

"Thank you" Vastra nodded, "Please, return to the town, I will be with you shortly".

Edmund nodded and left them alone. Vastra turned to Strax and informed him, "I will investigate this 'crimson horror', and attempt to glean more information about Sweetville and it's owner. Whilst I'm gone, ensure no one steals the carriage – without violence, mind – and bring it to the factory when we go in after the girls. I wonder how they're getting on" she mused.

"If they haven't make contact by nightfall, I suggest a massive frontal assault on the factory, madam. Casualties can be kept to perhaps as little as eighty percent" Strax suggested.

"I think there may be subtler ways of proceeding, Strax".

"Suit yourself" he muttered as she left.

/

Jenny, Laura and Charlotte were waiting in line with other prospective employees, separated into two lines, men and women. A redhead standing in front of Jenny turned around to ask her, "I'm dead nervous, aren't you? They have to be sure, you see. Only the best for Sweetville. I hope me teeth don't let me down" she said worriedly, for she did have rather bad teeth. "I'm Abigail" she introduced.

"Jenny, and these are me cousins, Charlotte and Laura" she introduced, gesturing to the pair behind her, who waved at Abigail.

She smiled back before remarking to Jenny, "You're not local, are you?"

"Nah, up from London".

"Different here, I bet".

"Yeah. Like a bleeding horse market" Jenny scoffed, before asking curiously, "Do you know anyone who's come to live here? In Sweetville, I mean".

"I had a pal who come here three month back. She wrote to tell me how perfect it all were" Abigail told her, before frowning. "Funny, though. I've not heard a peep from her since".

"Next, please!" someone at the head of the line called.

"Hang on, we're moving" said Abigail, stepping forward. She frowned when she saw Jenny sidle over to a locked door, and pull out a roll of lock picks. "What're you doing?" she hissed.

"Do us a favour" said Jenny, fiddling with the lock, "Cause a distraction".

"What?"

"Swoon. Have a funny turn. Fit of the vapours".

"Are you crackers?"

Charlotte stepped forward and held up a gold coin. "I'll give you this guinea" she offered.

Abigail smirked. "Done" she agreed, taking the coin, before pretending to be short of breath. She 'fainted' into one of the men's arms; the girls took advantage of the worried people to slip through the door and into the factory. There wasn't actually anything to the factory, just a large room where the sounds of heavy machinery were being played through large gramophones. The three of them hid behind some crates, and watched as two men carried a large glass flask of red liquid into a lift. "That's our best bet" Charlotte whispered.

/

The undertaker, Amos, remarked to Vastra and Edmund as they stood in the morgue's chemistry lab, "Them new manufacturers can do horrible things to a person. Horrible. I've pickled things in here that'd fair turn your hair snowy as top of Buckden Pike".

"You know what I'm looking for" she replied shortly, having no patience for his little spiel and attempt to frighten her. Edmund cleared his throat and nodded resolutely, declaring "Yes, with all haste, if you don't mind. I'd rather spend as little time as possible in this ghastly place" he muttered.

"Oh, aye" Amos nodded, handing Vastra a large glass bottle, half full of red liquid, "All them bits found in t'canal. The Crimson Horror" he leered.

Vastra ignored him and turned away, throwing her veil back to get a better look at the contents of the bottle. "It hardly seems possible…" she murmured, unable to believe her senses. Out of all that she'd expected, this was most certainly nothing of the sort.

"I beg your pardon?" Edmund inquired, ever the gentleman. The woman's tone was one of disbelief, even fear, and he couldn't help but feel concerned that the situation was even worse than they'd thought…though he wasn't sure how it could be, people were being coated in poison, for goodness sake.

"I think…I think I've seen these symptoms before" she replied.

"Oh, aye?" asked Amos.

"A long time ago…"

"How long, may I ask?" Edmund questioned with a frown.

Vastra turned to face them, smirking, not caring that she was unveiled. "About sixty five million years" she announced…the two men stared open mouthed at her just as she was expecting. Surprisingly, however, Edmund managed to force his jaw shut, and managed to eke out the words, "Th-th-that's a…a…a long t-time"…then his courage gave out and he fell backwards, fainting.

/

Ada and her mother sat eating soup, the young woman sitting prim and proper as befitting a lady of Sweetville. "I trust you had a pleasant day, Mama?" she inquired politely.

"Tolerable" Mrs Gillyflower replied rather curtly, more focused on her meal than on her daughter.

"Will Mr Sweet ever join us for dinner, Mama?" Ada wondered. She might have been blind, but she could hear, and she couldn't remember ever hearing someone introduce themselves as Mr Sweet. Her mother had told her much about Mr Sweet, of his ambitions and the vision they were creating together, but she'd never actually _met_ the man…which was rather strange.

"Mister Sweet is rather tired tonight, I fear" Gillyflower explained, glancing over at a third place set, with no one to sit at it. She reached for the salt and inadvertently knocked over the shaker, spilling white grains over the tablecloth. "Dear me, how clumsy I'm getting" she remarked, taking a pinch of salt and tossing it over her shoulder, "To keep the Devil at bay".

Her eyes met those of a servant, who nodded stiffly and left the women to their privacy. Mrs Gillyflower smirked as, unnoticed by Ada, she sprinkled some sugar down the front of her dress, and patted her chest.

/

Jenny, Laura and Charlotte emerged from the lift to find themselves in a grey corridor, with an ominous red glow coming from a door at the end. Laura looked around and spotted a spiral staircase. "This way" she stage whispered to the others, leading them to the steps. They could hear a banging, rattling noise coming from somewhere at the top of the staircase. "What're we doing up 'ere?" Jenny asked curiously.

Charlotte looked over her shoulder and replied, "Rescuing the Doctor, of course". They made their way to a door at the end of the corridor, one with a metal closed hatch at the bottom. The banging was louder now, and they could make out faint groans of pain emanating from the room inside. "You think the Doctor's in there?" Jenny frowned, disturbed by the noise.

"No, we _know_ the Doctor's in there" Charlotte rolled her eyes, "Here, I'll prove it" she offered, kneeling down and opening the hatch. A red skinned, stiff hand shot out and grabbed at her, forcing her to jerk back. "Hey! It's us, you idiot!"

The banging fell silent, and the hand slowly withdrew back through the hatch. "That's better. Now move back, okay, we're coming in" Charlotte instructed. She listened carefully, hearing a shuffling, chinking sound, and slid the hatch shut again. "If you'd like to do the honours" she said to Jenny, stepping aside. Jenny picked the lock and pushed the door open…

"Doctor!" she cried, staring in horror. The poor man was soaked in the poison, stiff and blood red, his mouth gaping, eyes wide and pained. He was dressed in white trousers and a shirt, manacles around his wrists, chaining him to the wall. "What happened to you?" she asked, rushing up to him, "Can you speak?"

"We told you, he was dipped in poison, and of course he can't speak, his mouths frozen open" Charlotte replied impatiently, scooping up his clothes and telling the other two, "Now help him out, before someone comes up here".

"Right" Jenny nodded, unlocking the manacles, "Right, we're getting out of here".

Once the Doctor was free, Jenny and Laura supported him on either side as they made their slow and painful way down the corridor, down the staircase, and towards the red glow room. Charlotte went ahead, keeping a look out and beckoning the others on when she saw the coast was clear. "Come on" Jenny muttered, wincing at the weight the Doctor was putting on her; she couldn't blame him though, it was obviously taking him a tremendous effort to walk, stiff as he was.

The lift began to rise, but by then they'd gone past it. "Just a bit more" Laura added encouragingly. They froze as the lift doors opened…only for Ada to step out, cane in hand, making her way towards the staircase. Charlotte peered in through the window of the red glow room, and tugged on the handle, but it was locked. She took Jenny's place supporting the Doctor, tucking his clothes under her arm, whilst Jenny picked the lock.

Once inside, they found several metal stalls, a covered vat – the same vat that Edmund would have fallen into, if she hadn't saved him, Charlotte thought with a small burst of pride – and a large window. Through it, they could see men and women being dipped into the Crimson Horror, unconscious and helpless. "Oh, my God" Jenny breathed, stunned.

The Doctor struggled to point at the metal stalls nearby; Charlotte nodded reassuringly and told him, "We know, you need to go in there. Jenny, little help?" she asked. The three of them guided the Doctor over to the nearest stall.

/

Meanwhile, Ada had reached the secret room, and spoke through it. "You are all I have, monster, but all will be well. Imperfect as we are, there will be room for us in the new Jerusalem" she smiled, reaching out for the door…only for it to fall open at her touch. Confused, and more than a little alarmed, she walked inside and tapped around with her cane until…her cane hit metal, and she knelt down to feel it, realising it was the manacles. "No. No! Where are you, monster? Where are you?"


	20. Chapter 20 - The Crimson Horror Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

The Crimson Horror – Part Two

The Doctor stood in the small space, holding his clothes, and with groans of pain, managed to pull the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and switch it on. Jenny shut the door and they hid as two men walked past the window. As they watched, the ominous red glow shining from the top of the stall turned bright green, and a fully dressed, perfectly healthy Doctor bounded out, grinning. "Ha! Missed me?"

"Not really, it's only been one night and day" Charlotte quipped, "And you're welcome".

"You brought Jenny here?"

"We brought Vastra and Strax too" Charlotte nodded, "And don't even think about kissing Jenny, she's married".

Jenny blinked, and stared at the Doctor, hands on hips. "You were gonna kiss me?!"

The Doctor just pulled her into a tight hug, then Charlotte, and then Laura. "You have no idea how good that feels" he grinned happily, before clapping his hands and announcing, "Right. Mrs Gillyflower. We've got to stop her. And then there's Clara. Poor Clara. Where's Clara?" he asked Laura and Charlotte, who shrugged. They honestly didn't know where she was, just that she was in one of the houses.

"Clara?" Jenny asked, bewildered, "Doctor, wait"-

"Can't, Clara, got to find" he said, pulling out his sonic and scanning for her.

"What does he mean, Clara?" Jenny asked the other two women.

"Uh…we might have glossed over a few things…" Laura admitted awkwardly. They followed the Doctor into the factory, hiding behind some crates as 'pilgrims' walked past, carrying yet another flask of the red liquid.

"What is that stuff, though?" Jenny whispered, pointing at the flask as it was taken away.

"Deadly poison" the Doctor replied, "And Mrs Gillyflower's been dipping her pilgrims in a dilute form to protect them. Preserve them. Process didn't work on me. Maybe because I'm not human. I ended up on the reject pile".

"It didn't work on other humans" Charlotte reminded him, "Being alien must've had let you survive it".

"Hmm, good point".

"Preserve them against what?" Jenny wondered.

"Well, according to her, the coming apocalypse" the Doctor told her, making a 'cuckoo' gesture. Charlotte and Laura stifled sniggers, but Jenny looked more thoughtful.

"When the End of Days is come and judgement rains down upon us all…"

"What?"

"Nothing…"

"No, no, no. What?"

"Something Mrs Gillyflower said" Jenny shrugged, "One of her sermons. Madame will come looking for me. We'd best get on".

"Yes, Clara, got to find Clara. Are you _sure_ you don't know where she is?" he asked his companions.

"Just that she's in one of the houses, but we don't know which one" Charlotte shrugged.

"But how can it be Clara?" Jenny wondered aloud, confused.

/

Strax was driving the carriage, Madame Vastra sitting within, when the horse decided to halt. Strax glared down at it and declared, "Horse, you have failed in your mission. We are lost, with no sign of Sweetville. Do you have any final words before your summary execution?" The horse, naturally, made no response. "The usual story" Strax grumbled, hefting a large gun, "Fourth one this week, and I'm not even hungry".

"Sweetville, sir?" a young urchin standing at the side of the road inquired. Strax paused and lowered the gun, eyeing the boy.

"Do you know it?" he asked.

"Turn around when possible. Then, at the end of the road, turn right" the boy described, in an oddly specific way.

"What?"

"Bear left for a quarter of a mile and you will have reached your destination" he finished. Strax gave him a considering look, and then gestured for the boy to join him up on the driver's seat of the carriage.

"Thank you. What is your name?"

"Thomas, sir" the boy replied, "Thomas Thomas".

"I think you will do well, Thomas Thomas" Strax remarked, before flicking the reins and sending the horse on.

/

"Are we talking about the same person? About that Clara?" Jenny asked, as the Doctor ran over to one of the terraced houses and looked inside.

"Not really" Laura shook her head, "Our Clara doesn't know anything about her other lives".

"Yeah, and it's probably best if we keep it that way" Charlotte added.

"But I don't understand, Clara died" Jenny frowned, "The Ice Lady killed her".

"It's not the same Clara" Charlotte rolled her eyes, they'd just explained that! The Doctor finally found the right house, with a preserved and frozen Clara sitting beneath a bell jar with a stranger standing behind her, his hand on the back of her chair. The Doctor looked around, spotted a chair and hefted it up, throwing it through the glass, shattering it. He stepped over the shards and picked Clara up into his arms, carrying her back to the red glow room.

/

Whilst they'd been searching for Clara, Mrs Gillyflower had gone to the red glow room…only to hear crying coming from up the staircase in the corner. She went to investigate, and found Ada on her knees in a small room, sobbing her heart out. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded; there was great work to be done, and this wretched girl was sitting there snivelling!

"Oh, Mama, I have been foolish" Ada cried, "I have formed a…sentimental attachment".

"An attachment?" Gillyflower frowned suspiciously, "To whom?"

"A young man. Unlike the others, he survived rejection. He must be strong. Worthy of salvation…" Ada tried to explain, to plead, but Gillyflower would hear none of it.

"Wrecker, berserker!" she shouted, furious, "You have loosed a reject onto the outside world!"

"I have disappointed you…" Ada sobbed.

"My plans must be accelerated" Gillyflower realised, ignoring Ada completely, "Nothing must interfere with the Great Work".

"But please say there is still room for me in your new Eden, Mama. Promise me that" Ada begged tearfully.

"I'll set my pilgrims onto him".

"No!" Ada cried, grabbing at her mother's skirts, but Gillyflower pulled away from her grasp.

"Kindly do not claw and slobber at my crinoline. You know I cannot bear to look at sick people" she ordered with a tone of disgust.

"Promise me you will not abandon me, Mama. Promise me that" Ada pleaded, miserable and desperate. Gillyflower looked down at her imperiously, though Ada couldn't see her expression, and scoffed.

"Do you not yet understand?" she demanded, "There can be no place for people such as you. That only perfection is good enough for myself and Mister Sweet. The bright day is done, child, and you are for the dark" she told her daughter coldly, before turning and leaving the room, forgetting her original intention in favour of heading off to order her pilgrims to search for the escaped reject. He couldn't have gotten far…left behind, Ada cried in the dark, her heart breaking.

/

Having avoided running into Gillyflower almost by the skin of their teeth, the Doctor, Clara, Charlotte, Laura and Jenny made it back to the red glow room. They placed Clara in a metal cubicle; unlike the Doctor, who had been so stiff he could barely move, Clara was manoeuvrable, almost as if the poison had transformed her into an actual doll. Laura really hoped that she wasn't conscious beneath her blank, serene stare…she must have felt so helpless.

"Can she be revived, like you were?" Jenny asked the Doctor, who was watching the cabinet intently. He'd tried so hard to keep this version of Clara safe, having failed to protect Oswin and Victorian Clara…he didn't want to fail again. "I hope so" he replied.

They looked up as the door opened, and three well-dressed male pilgrims entered, clearly having been sent by Gillyflower to apprehend them all. The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Oh, great. Great. Attack of the supermodels" he scoffed, "Time for a plan".

"Nah, Doctor" Jenny grinned at him, "This one's on me" she declared, pulling off her bonnet and her dress to reveal a black, leather cat-suit underneath. Before the pilgrims could even move, she'd incapacitated all of them in three moves, and grinned at the others.

"That was awesome" Charlotte declared bluntly. Before they could celebrate, however, six more pilgrims advanced, armed with…rounder's bats?

"Okay, time for a new plan" the Doctor decided, "Run!"

Before they could do _that,_ there was a triumphant cry of "Sontar-Ha!" – Strax barrelled onto the scene, in full armour, firing his massive gun at the pilgrims who scattered and fled. Charlotte wasn't sure if his aim was off or if he wasn't actually trying to kill them…when it came to Strax, both options seemed almost equally unlikely. Madame Vastra was close behind the Sontaron with a sword in hand; but much to her relief, Edmund wasn't with them. She'd asked Vastra beforehand to make sure Edmund stayed away, and it seemed the Silurian had done so.

"Let's go!" Vastra said hurriedly.

"No, ma'am, we're not escaping" Jenny told her, "We've got to help the Doctor with Clara".

At Vastra's bewildered expression, the Doctor quickly waved her off and said, "Long story".

"No, it isn't" said Charlotte, before turning to Vastra, and taking a deep breath…"Clara has lived more than one life and no I can't tell you how and we found a version of her who doesn't know anything about being a barmaid or governess so please don't bring it up" she rattled off, before grinning at the Doctor and adding, "See?"

"Show off".

"What now, madam?" Strax inquired, before suggesting "We could lay mimetic cluster mines".

"Strax"-

"Or dig trenches and fill them with acid!"

"Strax!" Vastra snapped, "You're overexcited. Have you been eating Miss Jenny's sherbet fancies again?"

The Sontaron blinked, and hesitated. "…No…"

Madame Vastra, to judge from her less than amused expression, clearly didn't believe him. "Go outside and wait for me until I call for you" she ordered.

"But madam, I"-

"Go!"

Strax frowned…one would almost say he pouted…and grumbled, "I'm going to go play with my grenades".

He stomped off, and the Doctor turned back to the cabinet that Clara was inside. "Okay, I think she's about done" he decided, reaching out to open the door. He paused before he did so and looked over at Jenny and Vastra. "I know who you think she is, but she isn't. She can't be" he told them.

"I was right, then" Vastra smiled at him, "You and Clara have unfinished business".

The Doctor nodded, and pulled open the door. Clara stumbled forward and fell into his arms, blinking up at him. "There, there. Hello, stranger" he smiled at her.

"Doctor…" she said dazedly, trying to stand up.

"Ah ha" he laughed, helping her.

"Hi…what's going on?" she asked, looking around at them all, and spotting Vastra, staring.

"Oh, haven't y'heard, love?" the Doctor asked in his Yorkshire accent, "There's trouble at t'mill. She's a Lizard" he added, in response to her questioning stare between him and Vastra.

"She's a Silurian" Laura corrected, "They're friends of his. Can you walk?"

Clara nodded, and they made their way out of the red glow room. Out in the corridor, Vastra began explaining to the Doctor what she'd discovered. "My people once ruled this world, as well you know, but we did not rule it alone. Just as humanity fights a daily battle against nature, so did we. And our greatest plague, the most virulent enemy, was the repulsive red leech" she revealed.

"Ooh, the Repulsive Red Leech" the Doctor grinned, trying the name out, before shaking his head and deciding "Nah, on balance I think I prefer the Crimson Horror. What was it, exactly?"

"A tiny parasite" she explained, "It infected our drinking water. And once in our systems, it secreted a fatal poison".

"If it's been hanging around, lurking in the shadows, maybe it's evolved. Or maybe it's had help" the Doctor mused.

Clara looked out of a window at the chimney stacks of the factory and commented, "Doctor, I've been thinking. The chimney"-

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" the Doctor waved her off, "Way past that now. Yucky red parasite from the time of the dinosaurs pitches up in Victorian Yorkshire. Didn't see that one coming" he admitted cheerfully.

"Yeah, but the chimney"-

"But what's the connection to Mrs Gillyflower? Judgement will rain down on us all. An empty mill"- he frowned and looked down, going cross-eyed, as Charlotte clamped a hand over his mouth. She nodded to Clara, who smiled in thanks and told the Doctor, "A chimney that doesn't blow smoke".

Charlotte took her hand off his mouth, and the Doctor smiled widely at Clara. "Clever clogs".

"Missed me?"

"Yeah, lots".

They found their way to the boiler room, and hid behind crates, watching the pilgrims at work. "She's going to poison the air" the Doctor whispered to them, working it out from the closed off chimneys and Gillyflower's talk of 'judgement raining down'; she was preserving people to create some kind of utopia, heaven on Earth…it would be more like hell, if they didn't stop her.

"How?" asked Jenny. They watched as a pilgrim pulled a lever, and doors opened to reveal…the base of a large rocket, stretching up to the ceiling in a hangar.

"With that, I should think" Clara commented, stating the obvious somewhat. She wondered how Gillyflower and her pilgrims had managed to build a working rocket in Victorian times…suddenly the idea of steampunk didn't seem too far away from reality.

"And there's the poison" the Doctor noted, his eyes trained on a large glass flask of the poison that two pilgrims were carrying between them, setting it down near the rocket ready for launch. "Alright, gang, I've got a plan" he nodded, standing up…only to knock some pipes with his foot when he stepped back, forcing him to duck back down as the pilgrims looked over at the noise. Charlotte pressed a finger to her lips and stared pointedly at him, before peeking out to see if the coast was clear.

Once they'd made it out of the boiler room, the Doctor turned to the others and explained, "Jenny, Vastra, you steal that poison. On no account let it be loaded into the rocket. Clara, Charlotte, Laura, you're with me. We're going to pay Mrs Gillyflower a little visit".

"Okay, but we've gotta go back to that hidden room first" Charlotte told him.

"Why?"

"Ada's there…she can help us".

The Doctor nodded; Ada might have chained him up, but she'd saved his life, and he'd been suspicious about her blindness and her scars ever since he'd seen her…he wanted to return her kindness. The five of them split up, the Doctor and his companions heading up to the secret room.

Back in the drawing room of her living quarters, Mrs Gillyflower smiled happily as she pulled out all the stops on a pipe organ tucked into an alcove in the wall. Then she pulled a lever, and the organ spun around to reveal the control panel for the rocket.

/

Ada was sitting on some boxes – there were an awful lot of old crates and boxes around, Laura wondered what they were all full of…then decided she probably didn't want to know. She looked up, startled, at the sound of the door opening. "Who is that? Who is there?"

The Doctor walked over and knelt down before her, taking her hand and running it over his face, so she could recognise him. "You" she gasped, "It's you, my monster, you've come back, but you're…"

"Warm" he finished for her, "And alive, thanks to you, Ada. You saved me from your mother's human rubbish tip. Now, what's wrong?"

Ada sniffled, despairing. "She does not want me, monster. I am not to be chosen" she revealed, guessing "Perhaps it was my own sin, the blackness in my heart that my father saw in me".

"Ada, no" the Doctor frowned, hating to hear the poor woman talk about herself so hopelessly, "That's nonsense. Stupid, backward nonsense, and you know it. You know it…" he trailed off, realising that perhaps she _didn't_ know, that perhaps she couldn't remember what had been done to her. If the…it made him almost sick to think about, but if the process had affected her memory, or she'd buried the memory in horror…it would explain why she believed her father had blinded her.

Clara frowned, seeing the Doctor gently tracing one of the scars on Ada's face, and asked quietly, "What is it?"

"Who is that?" asked Ada, turning her head towards the sound of Clara's voice.

"I'm…we're friends" replied Clara, letting Ada know there were more people present, "We're friends of his".

"Then you are fortunate indeed" Ada smiled sadly, "It isn't good to be alone".

"Now, Ada, I need you to tell me something. Who is Mister Sweet? Ada?" the Doctor asked gently; but Ada shook her head, unwilling, or perhaps unable…after all, it occurred to Charlotte, considering her blindness (how she hated Gillyflower for that alone), Ada had probably never realised what Mr Sweet really was.

"Oh, dear monster" she cried.

"Please, tell me" he implored her.

"I cannot. Even now, I cannot. I cannot betray Mama" she cried, shaking her head. The Doctor sighed, and stood up, taking Ada's hand.

"Well, come with us, then" he said solemnly, "There's something you need to know".

/

With Ada's help, they found their way to Gillyflower's drawing room, where the mad old woman was busying herself with the control panel for the rocket. She turned when they entered, sans Ada, and remarked far too cheerfully to the Doctor, "Oh, you do seem to keep turning up like a bad penny, young man".

"Force of habit" he replied with a calm smile.

"Can I offer you something?" she asked casually, "Tea? Seed cake? Oh, a glass of Amontillado?"

"No thanks. Clara and I've had a skinful already, you might say".

"Ha, ha! Very funny" she chuckled.

"Yes" he nodded, before bluntly stating, "I'm the Doctor, this is Clara, Laura and Charlotte, you're nuts, and we're going to stop you".

"I'm afraid Mister Sweet and I cannot allow that" Gillyflower responded in a faux-concerned voice.

"Ah, yes" the Doctor nodded, "Would it be impolite to ask why you and Mister Sweet are petrifying your workforce with diluted prehistoric leech venom?"

"So when do we get to meet him, this silent partner of yours?" asked Clara, "Why's he so shy?"

"Mister Sweet is always with us" the madwoman replied with a smile that sent shivers running up the girl's spines.

"You seem to have a very close relationship, you and your pal" the Doctor observed; he already suspected he knew what 'Mr Sweet' really was, based on what Vastra had told them, but he wanted it confirmed…even if it did turn out to be disgusting.

Mrs Gillyflower nodded in agreement, patting her chest. "Oh yes, Doctor. Exceedingly close. Symbiotic, you might say" she remarked with a smirk, before pulling open the top of her corseted dress to reveal a repulsive red leech…it certainly lived up to its name… clinging to her front. The Doctor's companions stared at it in revulsion; Charlotte's verdict was simply, "Eugh!"

"Doctor, what is it?" asked Clara, feeling a bit sick at the thought that she'd been dipped in…that _thing's_ venom. She made a mental note to have a very long, hot shower when she got home…

"A survivor" Gillyflower answered before the Time Lord could, "He has grown fat on the filth humanity has pumped into the rivers. That's where I found him" she explained.

"Very enterprising" the Doctor nodded; he felt a bit queasy himself, and they were all glad when she fastened her dress up again.

"His needs are simple, and in return he gives me his nectar" she smiled, as if the leech were some kind of helpful pet and not a horrible, prehistoric parasite.

"Mrs Gillyflower, you have no idea what you are dealing with" the Doctor tried to warn her, "In the wrong hands, that venom could wipe out all life on this planet!"

The old woman simply held up her hands, palms out, and grinned at them. "Do you know what these are? Ha, ha! The wrong hands!" she laughed, before turning to the control panel and pulling a lever. Outside, Thomas spotted red lights appearing all the way up the factory chimney. He pointed them out to Strax and the Sontaron grinned excitedly, before heading off to a glorious battle…for really, what else could the red lights mean?

"Planning a little fireworks party, are we?"

"You have forced me to advance the Great Work somewhat, Doctor, but my colossal scheme remains as it was. My rocket will explode high in the atmosphere, raining down Mister Sweet's beneficence onto all humanity".

"And wiping us all out" Clara realised, horrified, "You can't!"

"My new Adam and Eves will sleep for but a few months before stepping out into a golden dawn. Is it not beautiful, Doctor?" she asked, ignoring Clara. The girl was no threat to Gillyflower, or so the woman thought; after all, soon she would be a pretty doll once again, and her two little friends...as for the Doctor, there was no room for living rejects in _her_ paradise.

He gave her a hard look and instead said, "Now, tell us about Ada, Mrs Gillyflower".

"What?"

"Your daughter. You do remember your daughter? Tell us about your daughter".

"How can you speak of such trivia when my hour is at hand? The child is of no consequence" Gillyflower said unconcernedly.

"Is that why you experimented on her?" the Doctor asked, anger creeping into his voice.

Clara stared at Gillyflower and then at the Doctor in alarm. "Experimented?"

"The signs are all there" the Doctor revealed, "The pattern of scarring. You used her as a guinea pig, didn't you" he said to Gillyflower; it was a statement, not a question.

"God…" Now Clara _definitely_ felt sick. What kind of twisted person _experimented_ on her own daughter?

"How could you _do_ that?" asked Laura, having similar thoughts.

"Sometimes, sacrifices must be made".

" _Sacrifices_?" the Doctor repeated angrily.

"It was necessary. I had to find out how much of the venom would produce an anti-toxin to immunise myself. Don't you see? It was necessary!" Gillyflower exclaimed in her own defence.

Charlotte glared at her and snapped, "No, it wasn't! You're supposed to _love_ your child, not hurt them, you despicable crazy bitch" she spat, seething. Of all the low down, rotten – she'd known from the beginning what had happened to Ada, and she'd been waiting for a chance to lay into Gillyflower for ages.

The old woman glared right back, and was just about to tell the insulting girl that she needed to be taught some manners, when Ada called out from the doorway, "Mama? Is it, is it true?"

"Ada…" Gillyflower didn't know what to say, she didn't know Ada had been _listening…_

"It is" Ada realised, "It's true. True!"

"Ada, listen to me…"

Ada was consumed with a rage she'd never felt before; she advanced on her mother, shouting, "You hag! You perfidious hag! You virago! You harpy! All these years I have helped you, served you, looked after you. Do they count for nothing, nothing at all?" she demanded furiously, raising her white stick and bringing it down on her mother, who cringed and quailed under the onslaught, scrambling away.

"No, stop. Stop!"

Clara took advantage of the distraction to grab a chair and move towards the control panel. "Hang on, I've got a screwdriver!" the Doctor reminded her, holding it up.

"Yeah?" she smirked, "I've got a chair!" With that, she drove the legs into the panels, shorting the whole thing out in a gratifying burst of sparks.

"No!"

"Yeah, that worked" the Doctor admitted; messy, but effective nonetheless. "I'm afraid your rocket isn't going anywhere, Mrs G" he told the woman. Ada had stopped trying to beat her mother at the sound of the panel being smashed; she hoped it was all over…

"Please, come to me Ada" Gillyflower begged…and in spite of everything, part of Ada felt a deep rooted obligation to listen to her, 'honour and obey', but then Laura called out, "No, don't!"

"Oh, my child, you have always been so very…" Gillyflower pulled out a small revolver and grabbed Ada, holding it to her head, "Useful".

"No, Mrs Gillyflower" the Doctor warned.

"Please, Mama, no more. No more" Ada cried fearfully.

"Let her go!" Charlotte commanded firmly, taking a step forward; only for Mrs Gillyflower to fire a shot off in front of her feet; the Doctor yanked her behind him as she shrieked, eyes wide in terror.

"You, my dear, really must learn to respect your elders" Gillyflower tutted, "And now, if you'll please forgive us, we must be going. It is long past Ada's bedtime" she declared, before forcibly dragging her daughter out of the room, locking it behind her.

Clara ran forward to try and go after them, but the Doctor warned her, "No, no, Clara. If we follow straight after her, she'll shoot Ada on the spot".

"She wouldn't…"

"She would" he nodded, before turning to Charlotte and asking, "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I think so" she replied shakily, looking a bit pale. The bullet hole was _so_ close to where she'd been standing, if the Doctor hadn't pulled her back she might have been… "Thanks".

"You're welcome. Now…ah!" the Doctor grinned, "Chairs are useful!" he agreed with Clara, hefting one up and throwing it through the window.

/

Gillyflower pulled Ada into the factory, where the rocket was waiting. "Come along, Ada!" she scolded the struggling young woman.

"Please Mama, stop!"

Ignoring Ada, the old woman turned to a pilgrim and demanded, "Has the venom been loaded?"

"Yes, ma'am" he replied.

"Then heaven awaits you" she grinned triumphantly, before pulling Ada onwards. They reached the rocket, and she hauled Ada up the steps beside it, to a box in the wall. The Doctor, Clara, Laura and Charlotte rushed in, the latter three with their dresses torn from climbing out of the broken window. Gillyflower spotted the Doctor rushing up the stairs and shouted, "Stop!"

They skidded to a halt and the Doctor yelled, "Just let her go, Mrs Gillyflower. Let Ada go!"

"Secondary firing mechanism, Doctor. Mister Sweet and I are too smart for you, after all".

"Just let your daughter go, Mrs Gillyflower".

Ada managed to break free of her mother's tight grip, and stumbled down the steps to the lower level, falling back against the wall.

"Ada!"

She glared defiantly in her mother's general direction. "Shoot if you wish, Mama. It is of no matter, for you killed me a long time ago".

Rather than shoot at Ada, Gillyflower fired a shot off at the Doctor, forcing him to jump back. She smiled and started to sing as she worked on the controls. "I'll labour night and day to be a pilgrim…"

Whilst she was distracted, the Doctor rushed up the steps to Ada, reaching her just as the rockets engines ignited. He shielded her as it rose into the air just a foot or so away from them, able to feel his hair singing and skin blistering from the fierce heat that poured from the flames beneath the rocket.

"Now, Mister Sweet, now the whole world will taste your lethal kiss!" Gillyflower crowed jubilantly.

"I don't think so, Mrs Gillyflower" the Doctor told her, snapping his fingers…and pointing at Jenny and Vastra, disguised as pilgrims, holding a bottle of venom between them. High above them, the rocket soared into the atmosphere…but every bit of poison within it had been sequestered away by the diligent pair.

"Very well, then" Gillyflower glared at them, "If I can't take the world with me, you will have to do. Die, you freaks. Die! Die!" she shouted, aiming her gun at Jenny and Vastra, who both tensed, ready to dodge…

Strax aimed his large gun down the chimney at Gillyflower and ordered, "Put down your weapon, human female".

Instead she fired at him, or tried to, but missed by a mile…so naturally he retaliated, with a blast that sent her tumbling over the railing and down to the floor; Charlotte, Clara and Laura looked away, cringing at the sound of the thud. "Ouch" the Doctor winced, grimacing. The red leech detached itself from her, and started to crawl away. "No. No. Mister Sweet, where are you going? You can't leave me now, Mister Sweet" Gillyflower pleaded, even as she lay dying.

"What's it doing?" Clara asked as the Doctor came back down the steps to join them.

"It knows she's dying. She's no longer of any use to it" he explained.

"Mister Sweet" moaned Gillyflower, "…Ada?" she called weakly. Ada tapped her way down the stairs and over to her mother's side. "Ada, are you there?"

"I'm here, Mama".

"Forgive me, my child. Forgive me".

"Never" Ada whispered. Her mother was strangely pleased by this… "That's my girl" she breathed, her head lulling to the side in death.

Jenny gestured to the leech, still trying to crawl away, and asked the Doctor, "What will you do with that thing?"

"Take it back to the Jurassic Era, maybe. Out of harm's way" he suggested…but then Ada tapped her stick around until it hit the leech, frowned, and began to beat it to a pulp as it screeched. "On the other hand…" the Doctor trailed off, as the young woman took all her pent up frustration out on the leech that had ruined everything.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked at Charlotte, who hesitantly asked, "Can…can you cure her?"

The Doctor thought about it, and remembered he had some medicine in the TARDIS that should clear up Ada's blindness. "Ada?" he called out; she stopped bashing the now thoroughly squished leech and looked over at the sound of his voice. "Yes, uh, I think you've got it, well done. Now, we still need to revive everyone else, but after that, I'd like to repay your kindness"-

"There's no need, dear monster" Ada smiled brightly, "You and your friends have done more than enough".

"Then please, let us do this one last thing" Charlotte implored her, "Trust me, you won't regret it".

/

It took all night to revive all the pilgrims and prisoners, explain what had happened and send them all home. Edmund and Effie came up, insisting on helping, and did a grand job of comforting the bewildered survivors. The next morning found the companions and the Paternoster Gang, busy distracting Ada, Thomas and the Thursdays, whilst the Doctor ducked into the TARDIS in the nearby alley to fetch the medicine for Ada's eyes.

Strax clapped Thomas on the shoulder; the small boy held up remarkably well considering Strax's less than gentle touch. "Madam, this human boy proved to be a valuable asset in our efforts to bring down Sweetville. Permission to induct him into our elite corps?" he asked Madame Vastra.

"He's only a boy, Strax" Jenny shook her head, "He's not old enough to join our…err…elite corps" she explained.

Thomas scowled a bit and protested, "I'm nearly thirteen, I'm plenty old enough to help!"

"What we do is very dangerous" Vastra informed him, "And it is no place for children. Besides, I hardly think your parents would be very pleased if we took you back to London with us".

The young boy hung his head and scuffed a shoe across the ground. "I don't have no parents" he admitted, "I were living in Bradford before I hitched a ride up 'ere".

"Oh, you poor boy" Effie cried sympathetically, "No wonder you're so thin! How would you like to come home with us, have some lovely soup and bread, eh?"

"Err, Effie, dear, I don't think…"

"Oh, hush, Edmund. We can't just leave him out on the streets…oh, and you'll need somewhere to stay as well, won't you, Ada dear?"

Ada smiled demurely and said, "I wouldn't want to trouble anyone…but your offer is very kind, Mrs Thursday".

Just then, the Doctor came running up, beaming all over. "Sorry it took so long! Now, Ada, could you please close your eyes?" he asked her. Puzzled, Ada did as she was told. The Doctor carefully sprayed a mist, which was actually comprised of advanced nanogenes, onto her eyelids. "Just keep them closed for a minute" he instructed, before turning to his companions, specifically Laura and asking, "Right, London. We were going to London, weren't we?"

"Actually, I think I've had enough of Victorian times for now" Laura admitted.

"And I've had enough of these dresses" Charlotte grumbled, trying to straighten the restrictive clothing.

The Doctor nodded, and went to shake Edmund's hand. "Thanks for all your help, Edmund, old chap" he smiled gratefully.

"I wish I could have helped more" Edmund admitted, before adding, "And thank _you,_ Doctor, for putting an end to this whole ghastly business…and thank you, Miss Richards, for your advice. You were quite right…it wasn't a chance I wished to take" he admitted, smiling at his wife, who was talking to Thomas and Jenny…he looked back at Charlotte and finished, "I believe you may have saved our lives".

"Well, I'm just happy to help" Charlotte smiled modestly, shaking his hand. The Doctor frowned slightly, but before he could ask her how she saved their lives, Ada inquired, "Can I open my eyes now, dear monster?"

"Oh, yes! Yes, sorry…it, err, might be a bit of a shock…" he warned as she opened her eyes…blinked…and blinked again. Rather than a dull white haze, she saw…colours! Faces! Ada gasped in surprise, dropping her cane in shock as she realised, she could see! Her beautiful monster had restored her sight…and now that she could actually look at him, she realised with a bit of a blush that he was no monster in looks; he was actually a bit handsome.

"Good lord" Edmund breathed, his eyebrows flying up to his hairline in surprise, "It's a miracle".

"Well, not really, it's actually thanks to sub-atomic" – the eager Doctor was about to launch into a rambling explanation of just how he'd cured Ada's blindness, when Clara tugged him down and whispered in his ear, "It's 1893!"

"Oh, right, yes…yes, it is a miracle. Well, Ada, how does it feel to see?"

"It…it's incredible. I thought I'd lost my sight forever…thank you, my dear monster…you look much better like this" she laughed lightly.

He smiled and asked her, "What will you do now?"

"Oh, there are many things a bright young lady can do to occupy her time. It's time I stepped out of the darkness and into the light" she smiled, feeling confident and happy for the first time in years.

"Good luck, Ada. You know, I think you will be just", the Doctor kissed her on the cheek, "Splendid. Right, you three, go on ahead, I'll catch up" he told his companions, who bid the others goodbye and walked back to the TARDIS. "Thanks a million, as ever. Have some Pontefract cakes on me. I love Pontefract cakes. See you around, eh, I shouldn't wonder" he told the Paternoster Gang, before bidding goodbye to the other humans, and heading back to his time machine.

/

First they dropped Clara back at the Maitland house; Charlotte was grinning widely, feeling very pleased with herself. "Wasn't that great? I thought I'd hate that adventure, but it was actually _really_ good! See, I told you having someone on the outside would pay off" she told the Doctor, beaming…her smile dimmed when she noticed his rather serious expression. "What's up?" she frowned.

"What did Edmund mean, you saved their lives?"

"Oh, I told him he shouldn't try to go into Sweetville looking for you, that was all" Charlotte shrugged.

"Did you know he was going to go into Sweetville?"

"Well, in the episode he"- Laura began; Charlotte shushed her quickly, but it was too late.

"That was an episode? So you knew what was going to happen to them, and you changed it".

"You're acting like that's a _bad_ thing" Charlotte frowned, "We've changed a few things here and there before, and the universe hasn't collapsed. I _saved_ their lives, Doctor…I thought you'd be happy about that".

"I am! It's good, great even…but you promised, Charlotte, you both promised to _ask_ me before you tried to change anything".

" _No,_ we agreed to ask you if we weren't sure about something.I _was_ sure. Thanks to me and Laura, you were only trapped for a day or so! Then I gave you the idea to cure Ada, and I think Effie might adopt that kid Thomas…you're not seriously getting mad at me for fixing everything, are you?"

"I'm not mad at you" the Doctor shook his head, "I just wish you'd _told_ me. Charlotte, you could have summoned the Reapers".

"But I didn't. Everything's fine. I worked it all out, even if they hadn't died in the episode, it still wouldn't have been a paradox; you and Clara would've just been trapped longer. I _knew_ the Reapers wouldn't turn up. I know time!" she said confidently. The Doctor raised an eyebrow pointedly, and she faltered, "Not as well as you, but…"

"No, you don't know time as well as me. I do understand why you saved them, and that's good, that is _so_ human" he smiled at her, "But please, tell me next time. No matter how well you think you've worked things out, there are factors you don't know how to account for".

Charlotte sighed…she didn't feel like she ought to be apologising, but arguing would get them nowhere. "I'm sorry" she said grudgingly, "I promise I'll tell you next time I want to save people from an untimely demise…uh, I'm kind of tired. I'm gonna go have a nap, if that's okay".

"Sure, you two go on, get some rest. I'll just be here…fixing stuff".

/

Clara had opened the front door, walked into the front room with a smile on her face…it dropped away when she spotted an open laptop, with pictures on the screen…old black and white photographs of her and the Doctor, Laura and Charlotte, on a few of their adventures. The _Firebird,_ Caliburn House...

"It's you, isn't it?" asked Angie from behind her, making Clara jump. "It's from the seventies, but it's definitely you".

"Of course it's not" Clara said hurriedly.

"And that's you too, from 1983" said Artie, pointing at the picture of them with the captain and crew of the submarine, "I found it at school".

"No, that's just someone who looks like me".

"And those are people who look like those friends of yours" Angie said sarcastically.

"Is he an alien?" asked Artie, pointing at the Doctor.

"Why would he be an alien?" Angie scoffed.

"The chin" her brother shrugged, as if it were obvious.

"And the time travel?" she retorted, clicking on a third image, this one of only Clara…but dated London, 1890.

"That's not right" Clara murmured, frowning in bewilderment at the image.

"You were in Victorian London" Angie accused her.

"No, we were in Victorian Yorkshire" she replied without thinking…she had to resist the urge to face palm as Angie and Artie grinned excitedly, having caught her out.

"How come you didn't tell us?"

"Time travel, that's so cool!"

"Can we have a go?"

"Can you have a what?"

"We want a shot at the time machine".

"No, no, no, no" Clara shook her head emphatically, "Just listen"-

"Okay?" Angie insisted stubbornly, "Or, we'll have to tell Dad that our nanny's a time traveller" she added. Clara stared at them both, realising that they weren't going to let up about this. _What have I gotten myself into?_


	21. Chapter 21 - Face Your Fears

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who (or Gravity Falls ;) )

A/N: I am SUPER SORRY for the two month delay, if anyone cares. I put this chapter on the back burner whilst I went away for a week, and when I got back to it, I had writer's block. The ending is a little rushed but it was getting long enough already, so I decided to just wrap it up.

Face Your Fears

After Clara had waved goodbye to them and stepped out of the door, Laura and Charlotte went to change out of their cumbersome dresses. They'd been awake for a whole day and night, and to be honest they hadn't managed to get much sleep the previous night either. So they left the Doctor to entertain himself, with instructions to not get captured, killed or blow up the TARDIS whilst they had a nice long nap. When they finally returned to the console room, a rather antsy Doctor had quickly inquired, "Right, where should we head to next?"

Laura and Charlotte glanced at one another; Laura shrugged and suggested, "Um, why don't you set the co-ordinates to random?"

"Mystery tour, eh?" the Doctor grinned, "Brilliant idea, let me just switch on the randomiser". He flicked a switch, set them to dematerialise and inquired, "Do you know how I ended up getting a randomiser?"

Charlotte nodded and replied, "You installed it to try and evade the Black Guardian when he wanted to kill you…maybe not your smartest move, that" she remarked thoughtfully.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her, puzzled, and asked "Why not?"

"Well, the Black Guardian is all about chaos, right?" she asked rhetorically, "And you installed a _randomiser._ To escape a being whose sole purpose is to keep the universe…random…it's a wonder he wasn't waiting for you at the first place you turned up".

"Chaos and randomness aren't the same thing, Charlotte" the Doctor said knowledgeably, "Chaos occurs when a sequence of events grows exponentially more disordered, but it isn't _random._ Random is when there isn't a specific pattern to disrupt in the first place; that's why using a randomiser to escape the Guardian of Chaos, is actually a very smart move" he explained, tapping her on the nose.

"Okay, fair point" she sighed; she was willing to admit when she'd been wrong. The TARDIS landed, and the Doctor strode confidently down to the doors, eager to stretch his legs on another adventure. His companions stayed right where they were, and Laura called out, "Um, Doctor? Shouldn't you check it's safe to breathe first?"

"Yeah, I mean for all you know it's covered in ammonia out there".

"Right, yes, environment checks" he nodded, before yanking the door open and darting outside, much to Laura and Charlotte's alarm. Seconds later he stuck his head back inside and informed them, "Yep, it's fine. Come on out".

"You're such a jerk" Charlotte grumbled, although the effect was ruined somewhat by her attempts not to giggle. She and Laura stepped out of the TARDIS, looking around at the large pine forest they'd landed in, hearing what sounded like crickets chirping. It looked like somewhere on Earth, perhaps in North America…but there were probably plenty of locations in the universe that resembled North America.

"What did I do?"

"Scared us, that's what" Charlotte retorted, "So…now what?"

"We explore, of course" he replied, marching off in a random direction. Charlotte and Laura shrugged and followed him; the three of them strolled through the woods, craning their necks up at the massive, oak like trees…and nervously eyeing shadowy figures lurking far within the undergrowth.

"Err, Doctor?" Laura began a bit nervously, "What do we do if something attacks us?"

"Run?" he shrugged, "You know, I can't help but get the feeling I've been here before…wish I could remember".

"What's this? The Doctor's been to a random planet before? Who would have guessed?" Charlotte asked sarcastically. The Doctor gave her a ' _ha, ha, very funny'_ look, but the corners of his mouth were twitching upwards; she giggled and climbed over a half-rotted trunk, stumbling a bit on the roots. The forest seemed peaceful enough…they could hear what seemed like birds chattering far up in the branches, and the leaves underfoot made satisfying muffled crunching sounds as the three of them plodded on.

"You know, I think this place is really nice!" Laura announced with a pleased smile; the air was fresh, the flowers growing up amongst the trunks were beautiful…if it weren't for the slight sensation of being watched, it would be perfect.

"Yeah…kind of boring, though" Charlotte shrugged. In her opinion, if you'd walked through one forest, you'd walked through them all…then a glimmer of light caught the corner of her eye, and she looked over to see something glittering near a tree a little ways off. "Hey…hey guys, check it out!" she called, wandering over and crouching down besides the mysterious object. Charlotte brushed some of the needles aside and pulled out of the soil…a blue crystal, that still shone even when she brought it into the shade.

"Oh!" the Doctor exclaimed upon seeing it, "Oh, you beauty! I can't believe I didn't recognise this place; we're on Metebelis Three? I haven't been to this planet in centuries. I wonder why we haven't seen more of these around" he mused, taking the crystal from Charlotte and turning it over in his hands.

Laura's eyes went wide as saucers, and she felt her fingers trembling, her throat and chest getting tighter… "M-Metebelis? Err, you don't mean the planet with all the g-giant spiders, do you?"

"Mm, yes, they evolved from regular earth spiders after a spaceship crashed here, mutated by these crystals. That was actually how my third incarnation regenerated"-

"We know that" Charlotte interrupted impatiently, "Which time period is this? Have the spiders mutated or even arrived yet?" she demanded, even as she put a comforting arm around Laura's shoulders. Laura herself was starting to breathe more shallowly, eyes wide and staring at nothing…she looked like she was on a verge of a panic attack.

The Doctor frowned in concern and asked, "Laura, what's wrong?"

"I ch-changed m-my mind…" she answered shakily, "I wanna go back!"

"She's arachnophobic" Charlotte explained, "Even if there are no spiders yet, we ought to go somewhere she feels safe". She turned and started back the way they'd come, only for several spiders the size of dinner plates to emerge from behind the trees, clacking their horrible mandibles and hissing.

Both young women shrieked; Charlotte leapt back sharpish, whilst Laura ducked behind the Doctor and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to look at the horrid things. The next thing she knew, the Doctor was grabbing her hand and shouting, "Run!" She opened her eyes again…and immediately regretted it, as they turned to find even more Eight Legs crawling down the trees on all sides, some even spinning webs between the trunks, surrounding them. It must have been a scouting or….Laura felt sick to think of it… hunting party, lying in wait for unsuspecting prey behind the trees…

The spiders didn't attack…at least not physically. "You can think of a plan anytime, Doctor!" Charlotte said through gritted teeth. She'd never really been afraid of spiders, just a bit creeped out by them, but this…this was definitely frightening. These spiders didn't eat bugs, they ate _people._ She felt like little spiders were crawling all over her, up her legs and arms to her head. Laura and Charlotte shuddered and brushed at the phantom arachnids. "What's going on?!" asked Laura, squirming uncomfortably.

"They're telepathic – don't let them into your head!" he warned, trying to focus through the growing psychic interference, "Just picture a door to your mind and close it!"

They tried; they visualised closing and locking a door, and tried to focus on nothing but that door…but errant thoughts kept creeping into the forefront of their minds… _This isn't going to work...I'm too scared!...I can't do this...They're gonna kill us!_

" _How did you escape?!"_ the largest Eight Legs demanded; its voice scraped through their minds like a knife on a blackboard, making them all wince and flinch. Suddenly the Doctor recalled the blue crystal that Charlotte had found; he was still grasping it, hidden in his palm. It wasn't a very large crystal but it would do the trick…if he could just reach his sonic without the spiders noticing…

"Just let us go!" Laura cried out desperately, "Please!"

"Yeah…you don't wanna eat us! We're all elbows, elbows and gristle!"

" _Silence!"_ the Eight Legs leader screeched, _"The Eight Legs do not care about the plight of Two Legs! How did you escape the farm?_ "

"We're not even from this _planet,_ you stupid"-

" _Lies! All Two Legs on Metebelis come from the farm! Now we will take you prisoner once more, and you will work for the Eight Legs, and you will be harvested!"_

Poor Laura was near tears. "Please!" she begged, "Don't!"

Just then, the Doctor finally reached his sonic screwdriver, and pointed it at the blue crystal in his palm…unfortunately, that meant revealing the crystal to the Eight Legs, who hissed in alarm at the sight of it.

" _The male Two Legs has one of our crystals!_ " the leader cried, " _Give it to us!"_

Completely involuntarily, the Doctor's hand jerked a few centimetres towards the spiders…he kept gripping the now glowing crystal in his fingers with now obvious effort. Laura clapped her hands over her ears in a futile attempt to block out the incessant, insistent drone of the spiders psychic attack…she could almost hear a spine chilling, raspy voice deep in the back of her mind, whispering _Obey…obey…obey…_

In a sudden burst of fear fuelled adrenaline, Charlotte's fight or flight response flickered over to 'fight'; without warning she rushed at one of the smaller Eight Legs, swung her right foot up and under its large, hairy body, and sent it careening in a neat parabola (if she said so herself) right into the trunk of a large, sturdy tree. "HA!" she crowed triumphantly, "In your eight eyed face, you fre-EEK!" she shrieked, as another Eight Legs suddenly lunged forwards and sank its fangs into her left ankle.

"Charlotte!" Distracted, the Doctor stopped aiming the sonic at the crystal, instead trying to scan the bite marks. Charlotte gritted her teeth against the pain, berated herself for being so reckless and stupid and cried, "Don't _stop_!"

It was too late; her foolish, desperate attack had provoked the Eight Legs, and they swarmed forwards, forcing the three time travellers to back up towards the rocks behind them…then the Eight Legs on those rocks leapt onto Laura and Charlotte's backs – their screams were abruptly choked off as the force of the Eight Legs will power overwhelmed them. Their minds were blank, their bodies rigid like dolls or puppets, an eerie calmness overcoming them as that little whispering voice grew louder and louder… _obey…Obey…OBEY US!_

The Doctor amped up the setting on his screwdriver and pressed the tip against the brightly glowing crystal…he wanted to create a psychic pulse that would knock out the spiders and free his friends, but the crystal was too small, and the Eight Legs too numerous, and in his distraction he didn't notice the leader scuttle behind him…but he noticed when the leader leapt onto his back, and drilled a psychic message into his head – _Drop it! Drop it! Drop it!_

Both his hands began to uncurl, but he knew that if he lost his sonic out here, they'd be in even worse trouble…so reluctantly, he let the Metebelis crystal fall to the dusty ground so he could stuff his sonic back in his pocket. It stopped glowing, and the psychic overload that had been barely pushed back, resumed in full force. _OBEY THE EIGHT LEGS! OBEY THE EIGHT LEGS! OBEY US! OBEY US!_ The Doctor had just enough time to throw up mental shields, to stop the Eight Legs from getting too far into his mind, before the spiders gathered around them and teleported them away.

/

A very dazed and rather queasy Laura slowly returned to consciousness. She'd just had the most horrible nightmare, that they'd been captured by giant man-eating spiders. It was only when she tried to shift her arm, and found it pinned in place with thick, tough strands of webbing, that she realised it hadn't been a dream at all. She gasped in air and held it, to stop herself from screaming like she actually really wanted to…then she breathed out again, and in, and out, and in, and out…

Once she felt like she wasn't about to start hyperventilating, Laura tried to see where she was. She was lying in some sort of alcove, in a room that seemed to be empty…where were Charlotte and the Doctor? "Guys?" she called timidly, afraid to raise her voice lest the Eight Legs hear her. When there was no sign of either her friends or the spiders, Laura took a deep breath and called out a little louder. "Charlotte? Doctor? Are you there?" she asked hopefully. She didn't think she could do this on her own…but once again, there was no reply.

Laura felt the cold fingers of dread creeping up her back, which was beginning to ache from lying on the hard…metal? She vaguely remembered something about the spiders coming at first from a crashed spaceship, perhaps this was a storage room. Laura didn't really know or care; she was trapped, with no idea where her friends were…for all she knew, they had already been devoured…no, _no,_ she couldn't think like that. Laura knew she had to escape, and try to rescue them…if only she wasn't so terrified.

/

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid_ Charlotte ranted silently. When she'd woken, she'd felt shaken, but once she realised she was alone she immediately began struggling to escape. _Stupid randomiser, stupid spiders…stupid me for kicking the stupid spider…stupid bite wound…stupid painful ankle!_ The constant litany of indignation really helped to spur her on. She tensed up as much as she could, held her breath as long as she could, and then relaxed.

At first it didn't seem to be doing much good; the webbing wrapped around her remained stubbornly tight. Charlotte was tenacious though; her friends were in danger, _she_ was in danger, and she wasn't about to take all this lying down. She stretched the webbing, trying to loosen it enough to slip her arms out. It would be easier if she weren't distracted by the pain in her ankle, a dull burning sensation that she swore she felt creeping through her veins…well, the sooner she got herself free, the sooner she could check the damage.

In trying to get her arms free, she began to rock side to side, and realised at the last minute that she was sliding off the ledge she'd been placed on. Charlotte gritted her teeth as she toppled over and landed with a thump on the floor. No Eight Legs came to investigate, because ironically enough, the same thick webbing that prevented her escape also muffled her fall. Charlotte wriggled on her stomach, feeling like a butterfly coming out of a cocoon. The thought made her grin, and spurred her on, and she squirmed until she got her torso free…

/

This situation was less than ideal, the Doctor mused, as he stirred and took stock of his current predicament. Being cocooned like this was certainly bringing back memories…still, he'd escaped last time, he could escape again. He _had_ to escape, not just because he really didn't fancy being dissolved and eaten, but Laura and Charlotte were trapped there with him. He was trying to reach his sonic, which he really hoped hadn't been taken by the Eight Legs.

When he reached his sonic…assuming it was there…he'd cut himself free and then go and find his companions. If he could get hold of some bigger crystals, he could generate a psychic pulse to disorientate the Eight Legs. The tricky part would be moving around without a crystal, with all the spiders on guard…but he was more prepared now. They'd caught him off guard before, because he'd though the forest was miles from where he'd last encountered them on Metebelis 3.

Ten minutes later, he'd managed to pull his sonic from his pocket…he, too, fell off the ledge he was lying on. It was a little trickier to put the sonic on the right setting; Charlotte had once mentioned that she thought he'd made up all the settings, just to sound clever…which was true, to an extent, but he'd proven there actually were plenty of settings. He'd figured out how to access them all through trial and error…and now he used one to cut through the webbing and get to his feet.

/

Once Charlotte had extricated herself from the webbing, she set about checking on the ankle. It didn't look as bad as it felt; two small puncture wounds, surrounded by inflamed and slightly swollen skin, stinging and itching like crazy. It was a very large bug bite, essentially. Charlotte had gotten into the habit of carrying a few first aid supplies in her pocket; she carefully dabbed some cream around the bite marks and pulled on a soft ankle brace to try and support her foot.

She stood up and tried to put weight on her left leg, but had to bite back a cry as sharp pain shot up her calf. Wincing with each limping step, she searched the small room she was trapped in for something she could use as a weapon. There were three other empty ledges; it must have been a dorm at one point, but everything had been stripped bare for some reason.

Still, there was no time to waste; Charlotte limped to the door and paused for a moment to collect herself. The button to open the door was halfway up the wall, easily in her reach but not the spiders. Either the Eight Legs had locked the door from the outside, in which case she was really up the metaphorical creek, or they were convinced that their webs were inescapable. Well, she was about to prove one theory or another right.

With a deep breath, she pressed her back against the wall and pressed the button. The door shot open with a whoosh. An Eight Legs guard scuttled in, spotted the tattered remains of the webbing, and went in further…Charlotte threw herself around the corner and slammed her hand on the button on the other side, trapping the spider inside. She half grinned in triumph and half grimaced in pain as she looked up and down the corridor. _Which way?_ She saw shadows looming towards the left, and limped as quickly as she could to the corner on the right.

/

It had taken what felt like forever, but she'd finally struggled free of the cloying strands. Now all Laura had to do was get out of there, find her friends, avoid getting caught…piece of cake, right? Trembling like a leaf, she tiptoed up to the door and pressed her ear to it. She couldn't hear anything…but that didn't mean nothing was out there. If only she could see, but there was no way to do that without…she gulped…opening the door. _Okay, don't panic_ she told herself firmly, _you've practised this with Charlotte. Just get out when the coast is clear._

Laura was terrified, but she couldn't let it rule her. She needed to escape; her best friend was counting on her! Feeling like her heart was about to burst out of her chest, she stood to the side of the door, counted to five, and pushed the button. It slid open and a spider guard crawled in to investigate. It saw the strands, but instead of going over to them, it turned to leave again and spotted Laura. Panicking, she booted the spider and scrambled out of the room as it struggled to right itself.

Mind whirling, she slammed her palm on the other button to close the door and ran left down the corridor. She had no idea where she was going, she just wanted to get away…she heard footsteps ahead and quickly darted into an alcove. A man walked past her hiding spot; as he passed, Laura saw that he had one of those horrible Eight Legs clinging to his back. _Is he a prisoner too? Should I try to rescue him? How can I?_ she wondered, as she edged out from the alcove and backed away down the corridor.

The man suddenly stopped, and Laura froze as well. The Eight Legs twitched it's…well, legs, and the man's head started to turn…the movement jarred Laura out of her deer-in-headlights stance. She quickly darted into the alcove once more, pressing her back to the wall moments before the man turned fully. Trying not to breathe too loudly, she felt her skin start to crawl. _No, no, think of a wall, wall, wall, wall, wall, wall!_ Squeezing her eyes shut tight, Laura pictured an impenetrable steel wall and did her best to think of nothing else.

An eternity packed into a few agonising seconds stretched out…but no-one grabbed her arm, the skin crawling feeling didn't increase…finally, Laura gathered the courage to crack first one eye, then the other open. There were no signs of either the man or any Eight Legs…something vibrated against her ribs and she jumped with a chipmunk squeak of fright. Moments later she realised it was only her phone; Charlotte was using a 'phone locater' app to find her. If she just carried on, she could double back later and meet Charlotte halfway…hopefully.

/

The Doctor had long since escaped his own cell, and was attempting to get his bearings. He knew that they had landed at a point in time before his third incarnation had defeated the Eight Legs Queen. He had deliberately not tried to sense the planet or the time period when they landed, wanting to be just as surprised as the girls…in retrospect that wasn't the best idea. He wasn't sure why the spiders had separated the three of them, but not confiscated his sonic…perhaps it was because they knew Charlotte was injured, or thought it was

He had to find both of them, Charlotte especially. She wouldn't know, but Eight Legs venom was necrotic. It began as a painful itch and slowly, over the course of hours, transitioned to a burning sensation over first the injured part, and then the whole body, as the cells were destroyed. The body, thinking itself to be on fire, then released water to cool down until the victim was dehydrated, suffering a self-caused heat stroke. It was only slow on humans because of their size, but Charlotte only had about 6 hours before…

If Charlotte was trying to move on her injured leg, and she undoubtedly was, it would only exacerbate her condition. The Doctor paused at an intersection and peered at the rusted plaque detailing which parts of the spaceship had been in which areas. One inscription read 'Engines', with an arrow pointing left - since the spaceship had to have crashed nose first, the wreckage had to be towards his right. If he could find his way out of the ship, he could find a crystal, use bits and pieces of the ship to whip up a psychic disruptor, and keep the spiders at bay.

He waited until he was sure the coast was clear, and then ran down the corridor towards his right. He had to be fast – get out, find a crystal, get back in the spaceship and find Charlotte and Laura. As he ran, he pulled his sonic from his pocket and set it to detect non-humanoid life-forms within a radius of ten metres. If any Eight Legs were approaching him, from whatever direction, he wanted to know about it. _Hold on, girls. Just a little longer…_

/

Charlotte doggedly made her way down the corridor, half limping, and half dragging her injured foot behind her. Her back was pressed to the wall, to fend off attacks from behind. Her eyes darted left, right, and down at her phone, where a little blip showed the location of Laura's phone, and therefore Laura. Thank goodness they made certain to always take their phones with them for emergencies. Earphones played the most uplifting, base thumping songs she had on her iPhone.

Her hope was that the music would distract her, from both the pain in her leg and from the Eight Legs psychic attacks. It also needed to distract her from her fear, because she was afraid. Terrified, even; each time she had to limp past a closed door, or worse an _open_ one, she expected a spider to emerge. They must have had _some_ way to open the doors…or did they control humans to do it for them? That thought only increased her terror, to think of someone coming and dragging her away, knowing she couldn't fight them off…

She paused for breath, a few feet from a closed door on the opposite side. What she really needed was a weapon, something she could use at a distance. _I don't know if I could shoot a person but…if it was me or them…I guess I could always aim somewhere non-lethal...like the foot…is that writing?_ Her pain bleared eyes landed on the door, and on a plaque. At first the letters looked like gibberish, but then suddenly she could make out the somewhat faded words: 'Tech Workshop'.

With her spirit suddenly buoyed, she checked the coast was clear before pushing off the wall and hopping over to the door, wincing all the while. On the other side, she opened the door and braced herself in case an Eight Legs emerged…when nothing happened, Charlotte dared to step into the darkened room and close the door behind her. Her phone illuminated a large, futuristic, but rather battered workshop. _Did the crash do this, or the Eight Legs?_ She wondered, _and more importantly, how am I gonna find a weapon here?_

There were too many places to look, and not enough time. She looked at her phone, at the blip that represents Laura, and once more her heart leapt. Laura was just five corridors away! If she guided her friend there, they could hide out…oh, but what if there were Eight Legs lurking in this room, watching her, waiting to pounce? Charlotte had every reason to be paranoid; she quickly searched for the light switch, and covered her eyes at the sudden shift in brightness. As far as she could tell, the room was deserted…but she wasn't going to let her guard down.

First she worked out a route for Laura to follow, and then texted it to her. Next, she made her way to the work bench, thinking it the best place to look for tools that could be…adapted as weapons. _Hopefully, years of watching Myth Busters will pay off now…let's see, thingy that looks like a wire cutter, nope, sharp thingy I don't wanna touch, no, oh it's no good! I don't recognise any of these tools, and these drawers are locked or stuck or…I can't give up. I…I can't…_ Helpless, hopeless tears sprang unbidden to her eyes…then her phone pinged. The text read 'On my way'. She smiled.

/

Laura had nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone buzzed in her hand; mostly because of the three Eight Legs that were standing in the corridor around the corner. Panicked, she quickly ran back to another corridor and hid in an alcove she'd spotted there. Her heart raced as the spiders scuttled past, their footsteps sending her skin crawling and shivers shooting up her spine. To her immense relief, none of them came past her hiding place, and she dared to have a peek at the text she'd received.

It was from Charlotte, and read 'Left, right, right, left, left'. Laura's brow creased in puzzlement at first, but she quickly realised that these were directions. _If she was using the Find a Phone App, why isn't she using it to find me? Unless…she's too hurt now…_ she sent a quick text back and snuck out of the alcove, tiptoeing up to the intersection and then running for the corner. At least those three Eight Legs had left…she'd seen fewer of them than she expected, not that she was complaining. Perhaps they didn't actually live in the crashed spaceship.

There was no time to dwell on it; she followed the directions, turning left, then right, then right again. As she ran past a door marked 'Cabins 35-40', she heard someone calling out and ran faster…but then slowed down, realising that it wasn't Charlotte's voice, it was too deep. Her gaze danced with nervous flickers from the direction her best friend was in, to the door she'd heard the call coming from. " _Let me go! Please! Let me go! Hello?"_

Someone was in trouble! Laura felt like she was being tugged apart, her heartstrings certainly did. If this prisoner was trapped there, she had to help them – but what about Charlotte – Laura fumbled with her phone and texted 'Sum1's trapped. Gotta help!', before striding up to the door and hitting the open button. In her hurry, she didn't stand back in case an Eight Legs emerged…but the only person in the room was a man in about his forties, standing opposite the door. "Oh, thank goodness! Thank you so much, those dratted things cornered me and"-

"It's okay, we'll get out of here!" Laura reassured the stranger, "Come on! My friend is…wait…" gears in her head came unstuck and started turning… "Why weren't you in a web?"

The 'prisoner' didn't reply…he stiffened, his eyes glazing over, and he slumped bodily to the floor. Standing atop the fallen man's back was an Eight Legs – the same large Eight Legs that had discovered them in the forest. Laura _screamed_ at the top of her lungs, spun around and tried to run out the open door – but a second spider had crept up the wall beside the switch, and pressed it with one of his spindly legs.

"No! No, no, no, no, no! Let me _out_!" she cried, trying desperately to visualise a wall, barbed wire, _anything_ to fend off the psychic attack she was sure was coming. Even now she could feel invisible spidery legs crawling and running all over her and shuddered in horror.

" _You will not escape this time!"_ the Eight Legs sneered…at least, it sounded as if it were sneering. _"We knew that you had escaped and we've herded you here. Now you will lure your friends in, and you will all be devoured by the Queen of the Eight Legs"._

"I won't" Laura shook her head, backing away from the two Eight Legs, "The Doctor will stop you!" Her eyes frantically flicked down to her phone, her sweating fingers sliding over the small keys as she tried to type a text and hit 'send' – suddenly, she felt an Eight Legs jump on her back. Laura screamed again, flailing and thrashing in a futile attempt to dislodge the wretched monster. It was no use…Laura stared, helplessly, as her hand dropped her phone to the ground, and her foot stamped on it, cracking the screen, out of her control.

 _No, no…I'm sorry, guys…_ Laura thought as the Eight Legs overwhelmed her paltry attempt at a mental defence. If they got out of this alive, heaven help them, she was definitely asking the Doctor to teach her how to properly shield her mind. Where was the Doctor? Didn't he usually save the day at the last minute? He was cutting it kind of close…

" _Let her speak_ " the Eight Legs leader ordered, _"We need her as bait!_ "

Laura felt as if a weight had been lifted off her throat, but she didn't scream or shout for help at first… _I don't want to lure them into a trap! Oh, but the Doctor might have a plan now, and Charlotte, I think she's hiding somewhere – but she'd come and I don't want to get my best friend killed!_

Before she could work out what to do, the Eight Legs controlling her suddenly ordered her to walk to the door and hammer on it, shouting "Help me! Doctor! Charlotte! Help me! Get me out of here!"

She backed away as the door slid open, the Eight Legs inside the room scuttled out of sight…and then screeched in pain as a thrumming blue light pulsed through the room, emanating from the large blue crystal clutched in the Doctor's hand. Every single spider, including the one on Laura's back, collapsed and curled into balls. Laura gasped and nearly fell to her knees, if not for the Doctor rushing over and supporting her. "It's okay, I've got you. Can you walk?"

"Y-yeah, I think so" she replied shakily, tears in her eyes. She crouched down to pick up her broken phone and said, "I know where Charlotte is, this way". They ran down the corridor and turned left…and saw Charlotte inching her way towards them, her face red and shiny with exertion. "Charlotte!" Laura sprinted over and threw her arms around her best friend, crying "Oh thank God you're okay!"

"Are _you_ okay? I heard you screaming. Doctor, my leg _really_ hurts".

"Doctor, how do we get out? Charlotte can't walk!"

"She doesn't need to" he replied, altering the setting on his sonic, "because now that we're together, I can activate the TARDIS' emergency pilot lock-on. Hold this!" he said, pushing the crystal into Laura's hand and holding his sonic up in the air. An Eight Legs came around the corner and spotted them, hissed and scurried towards them…then the air around them began to wobble and shift, and gradually it took the form, not of a spaceship passageway, but of an advanced medical bay.

The Doctor smiled in relief and lowered his arm. "Thanks, dear. Charlotte, take your shoe off".

Charlotte pulled herself up onto the exam table and pulled off her shoe, sock and the ankle brace. "Am I gonna die?" she asked, staring in morbid curiosity at the…the web...of disturbingly black veins that had spread up her leg from her ankle. Laura winced in sympathy at the sight.

"No, because I have the antidote, just a minute"…when the Doctor turned around, he had a hypodermic needle in his hand, filled with a clear liquid. Charlotte braced herself – she wasn't the biggest fan of needles. The Doctor strode over and held her calf still, swiftly injecting the antidote straight into a vein in her leg.

"OW!"

"Sorry. The pain should start to fade in twenty minutes or so, but your foot's going to be a bit tender for a couple of days. Walking on it didn't really do it any favours" he scolded, before smiling and adding, "I'm really proud of you both".

"I'm just glad it's finally over" Laura sighed, "I _never_ want to go through anything like that _again_ ".

"Me neither" her friend agreed, "But you were great. I mean, no offence, but I thought you'd be falling to pieces. I guess you're braver than you think".

"…Yeah" Laura managed a shaky smile, "Yeah, I guess I am".


	22. Chapter 22 - Nightmare in Silver Pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Nightmare in Silver – Part One

It had been a week, seven days exactly, since the…traumatic events of Metebelis II. 'Trauma' was really an over-statement; with the exception of a couple of nightmares, the two Whovians had dealt with the whole experience surprisingly well. That very morning…if you could call it 'morning' on the TARDIS, where time seemed to have lost all meaning…the two of them were having breakfast in the kitchen. "Where d'you think the Doctor is?" asked Laura, after swallowing a spoonful of Weetabix.

Her best friend merely shrugged and gave a non-committal grunt, distracted by her phone and her own bowl of shredded, compressed wheat. Both she and Laura had made a pact to try and eat more healthily whilst travelling on the TARDIS; between the balanced diets and all the running, their appearances had drastically changed. Laura's weight had slowly melted away, leaving her with a figure still short and curvy, but less rounded. Charlotte had more energy to spare, which helped when they ended up on two consecutive adventures, and her muscles were far more toned.

Laura lifted another mouthful to her lips, and noticed a movement in the corner of her eye. Glancing over she froze, holding the spoon aloft, seeing a spider crawling along the table towards them. It was one of the creepy, long legged, small bodied ones that always made her and Charlotte cringe. Charlotte noticed the spider too and felt a shudder run down her spine…out of all the spiders it could have been, those were the worst in her opinion. She looked at Laura, expecting to see her going pale, looking fearful.

Instead, Laura's reaction surprised her. The same girl who used to freeze and whimper if a spider crawled onto her person, actually put down her spoon and carefully scooped the spider into her cupped hands. "Come on, little guy; you don't belong in here". Charlotte stared as she walked to the open doorway and released the spider onto the wall of the corridor, before coming back inside, wiping her hands off on her trousers.

"Whoa…who are you and what have you done with Laura?"

"Ha, ha, very funny" Laura deadpanned, "Well, after dealing with those giant spiders last week, the rest are…pretty tiny in comparison. I thought I'd still be scared of them but…I don't think I am so much, anymore".

Charlotte beamed at her. "That's great! Wish I could say the same. Every spider I see now just creeps me out" she sighed. It was strange how one event could trigger such a role reversal – now she was the one nervous around spiders, whilst Laura was up and letting them crawl into her hands!

"It's okay, Charlotte, you'll get over it" Laura smiled confidently. They finished eating their breakfasts and then went in search of the console room. The Doctor was already there, of course, looking at something on the scanner.

"You stalking Clara's timeline again?" asked Charlotte, with an amused smirk. The Doctor jumped and hastily protested, "It's not stalking – I mean, no, I was just...anyway, where do you want to go today?"

"Hmm…I dunno, really. Isn't it your turn to choose, Laura?"

"I think it's Clara's turn, actually. We're back to Wednesday after all". No sooner had Laura spoken, than the phone began ringing…the phone on the outside of the phone box.

"You really need to rewire that" Charlotte commented as the Doctor went to answer the phone. He made a dismissive 'I'll sort it later' gesture and flung the door open to reveal a beautiful nebula…which he promptly proceeded to ignore, taking the phone and pressing it to his ear. "Hello, this is the Doctor speaking…oh, hello, Clara! We were just talking about y- what?" A frown creased his brow as he listened… "Are you sure…okay, okay…wait, they want to _what?_ "

Suddenly, Charlotte realised what was probably going on. She hurried over and tugged the Doctor's sleeve; at first he brushed her off, but she tugged again, more insistently. "Hang on, Clara" – the Doctor pressed the phone to his shoulder – "Charlotte, I'm trying to"-

"She wants to bring the kids, doesn't she" Charlotte said hastily. There was a long pause.

"…Episode?"

"Yup…can you just tell her 'no'?"

"To the kids coming? Why, because it's not safe?" he guessed.

"No, cos they're annoying" she replied bluntly, "…and because it's not safe. I'm just not in the mood to deal with an irritating teenager".

The Doctor looked worried, silently asking what was wrong…Charlotte just gestured to the phone, reminding him that he was in the middle of something. He lifted it to his ear again and said, "Sorry about that, Clara. Listen, I don't think…uh…right". He winced and looked at Charlotte again. "Um…she heard what you said".

Charlotte promptly face-palmed in frustration; she gestured for the Doctor to hand her the phone. "Hey, Clara, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean it".

"It's okay. Look, I know Angie can be kind of frustrating at times…but give her a chance. She's going through a lot".

 _That doesn't give her the right to be a brat_ Charlotte couldn't help thinking. Aloud, she remarked "Do you really think it's a good idea for them to come on a trip? You know how dangerous it can get".

"I know, and I want to say 'no', but…Charlotte, they have photos. They're going to show them to Mr Maitland if I don't say 'yes'".

"So put your foot down! Tell your boss his kids are trying to blackmail you. I mean, who do you think he's gonna believe?"

Clara hesitated… "I just don't want to have them _constantly_ bugging me about it. They'll never let up on this, I just know it".

"Which is the whole point of putting your foot down" Charlotte pointed out, "Exercising your authority; you can't give kids that age an inch, or they'll take a mile…" she sighed and reluctantly added, "If you really want them to come…well, it's up to the Doctor".

She handed the phone back to him. "Clara? The kids can come, on _one_ trip mind you" he decided, "Besides, I've got a brilliant idea for where we can go!"

/

Thus it was, after picking up Clara and her young charges, the TARDIS materialised on what two of the occupants knew was an anti-gravity moon themed ride. The Doctor, Clara and the kids stuck their heads out of the door, and then all six of them stepped out of the TARDIS. "Well, here we are" the Doctor announced, arms outstretched, "Hedgewick's World! The biggest and best amusement park there will ever be, and we've got a golden ticket" he grinned, showing it off, "Eh? Eh? Fun" he beamed.

"Fun?" asked Clara, doubtful – it looked rather dilapidated to her, and deserted. Behind her, Angie scoffed in childish contempt. "Your stupid box can't even get us to the right place. This is like a moon base or something" she said dismissively.

"Then how are we breathing?" inquired Charlotte. Angie just ignored her. Who were these two women anyway? Friends of Clara, she gathered, but how come they'd only visited that one time in March? It was July now!

"It's not the moon" the Doctor protested, his face falling as he realised that his companions and guests didn't exactly share his enthusiasm.

"Actually, I think it does look like the moon" Artie commented, "Only dirtier".

"The moon's covered in dust, it's already dirty. Plus, I'm pretty sure it doesn't have fake looking rocks or a control panel on it" Charlotte pointed out.

"Charlotte's right. This isn't the moon, guys, it's a Spacey Zoomer ride" the Doctor explained… "Or it was".

Just then, a door opened in one of the larger 'fake looking rocks', and a man wearing a tall top hat poked his head out. "Psst, excuse me? I don't suppose you happen to be my lift off planet? Dave's Discount Interstellar Removals?" he asked hopefully.

"Fraid not" Clara answered for them.

"They were meant to be here six months ago. Well, that's Dave for you, see? Unreliable" the man sighed.

"Stay where you are!" A new, female voice commanded; the man gulped and ducked back into whatever room was inside the rock. A rag tag group of soldiers, led by a no nonsense looking blonde, ran into the area and of course, aimed guns at them all. "Throw down your weapons and identify yourselves" the captain ordered immediately.

"No, no weapons" the Doctor said hastily, waving the golden coloured ticket, "Golden ticket. Spacey Zoomer. Free ice cream?"

"Who are you?" the captain frowned at the odd man. "This planet is closed, by Imperial order".

"How's this?" he asked, jumping down from a fake boulder and whipping out the psychic paper.

The captain's eyes widened slightly when she read…or thought she read…what was on there. "Oh…Welcome, Proconsul. I wish they'd told us you and your aides were coming. Any news of the Emperor?" she inquired, much to his bewilderment.

"Oh, the Emperor….No, no" the Doctor shook his head slightly, "None that you'd, err"-

"We pray for his return. If there is anything you need, my platoon is at your service".

"Right, righty-oh. Carry on, captain".

The captain stepped back and saluted, before turning to her motley group. "Platoon, let's move out! On the double. Two, three, four. Two, three, four. Two, three, four" … the group hurried away in a decidedly less than disciplined fashion. Then the same man from before stuck his head out again and asked, "Have they gone?"

"Yeah, they've gone" Laura nodded.

"Uniforms give me the heebie-jeebies" he explained, stepping out of the room and beckoning for them to follow him, "Come on. They can't stop me being here, but they don't like it".

He led the six of them away from the Spacey Zoomer ride, to a view of the whole park…or rather, what was left of it. "Ha, ha! You see? I told you it was amazing" the Doctor smiled, but it soon faded… "Well, it used to be".

They could just about imagine how the park must have looked in its heyday – but now, with the coasters in massive disrepair and grass growing up between cracks in the concrete, it looked as forlorn and abandoned as you could get. "It closed down" their new guide commented, rather unnecessarily, "Wish I'd known that before I landed here. But let me show you my collection. Come along. Follow me. This way. This way in, come on" he said, leading them to one of the buildings still standing.

They went down some steps into a well-furnished room, lit with hanging chandeliers and filled with waxwork figures. "Welcome to my show" the man announced grandly, "Webley's World of Wonders. Miracles, marvels and more await you. I am Impresario Webley", he paused to cough, "You see before you waxwork representations of the famous and the infamous. Anybody here play chess?"

The Doctor immediately raised his hand, a hopeful smile on his face…Webley instead turned to Artie and asked, "Perhaps you, young man?"

"Actually, I'm in my school chess club" the boy admitted proudly.

"Ah, follow me" Webley beckoned; the Doctor lowered his hand again, pouting. Charlotte supressed a snigger at the look on his face and patted him on the shoulder as she passed. They followed Webley to the next room, which contained two chairs and a table with a chess set on it. "Now, let demonstrate to you all the wonder of the age, the miracle of modernity" Webley declared, walking over to something on the opposite chair, draped in satin cloth.

"We defeated them all a thousand years ago, but now he's back, to destroy you. Behold, the enemy!" With a flourish, he whipped away the cloth to reveal a –

"Cyberman! Get down!" the Doctor cried out in alarm, tugging both Clara and Charlotte into a crouch. Laura remained standing, knowing it wasn't a threat – the kids stayed standing because they didn't know what was going on.

"No need to panic, my young friends" Webley smiled in amusement, as a rather embarrassed Doctor got to his feet, realising that the Cyber wasn't attacking them. "We all know there are no more living Cybermen. What you are seeing is a miracle. The six hundred and ninety ninth wonder of the universe, as displayed before the Imperial court, and only here to destroy you at chess" he explained.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic and scanned the slightly tarnished silver robot. "Careful, now" Webley cautioned, "An empty shell, and yet it moves. How?" he asked them.

Angie, looking rather bored, sarcastically suggested "Magic".

"That may well be, young lady" nodded Webley; they couldn't tell if he was humouring her or just oblivious to the sarcasm, "but a single penny wins you five Imperial shillings, if you can beat this empty shell at chess".

"I haven't got a penny, but I've got a sandwich" Artie said hopefully, holding it up. Webley decided it was better than nothing. "Alright, take a seat" he agreed, taking the sandwich. Artie grinned excitedly and sat down opposite the robot, eager to see if he could beat it.

"It is free of all devices, and yet it has never been beaten. Would you like to make the first move, young man?"

Artie looked over the board thoughtfully, and moved his king's bishop's pawn one space. The Cyberman jerked a hand forward and picked up it's King's pawn, moving it two spaces. The Doctor looked over Artie's shoulder as he made his next move, and hurriedly advised "Oh no, Artie. No, don't do that, it"- the boy didn't listen and moved his piece anyway…leaving the board open for the Cyberman to move its Black Queen and end the game. "That's a fool's mate" the Doctor sighed. _He_ would have won that.

"If you can tell me how it works, I'll give you a silver penny" Webley offered.

"I think…you do it with mirrors?" Angie guessed, only half-seriously.

"Since when do mirrors make a robot move?" Charlotte muttered. Clara shot her a pointed look; she didn't know why Charlotte was being so passive-aggressive towards Angie, but she wanted it to stop. What had Angie done to her, apart from being a bit stand-offish?

"Well, let's see, hey?" the Doctor suggested brightly, scanning the Cyberman again. "Low tech…It's a puppet. Monofilament strings, which means the brains are in…" He crouched down and opened a door in the Cyberman's chair, revealing a small man squeezed inside, holding a control box.

"Hello" the man greeted with a sheepish grin.

"Hello".

"I'm the brains".

"Hello".

"Give us a hand" he said; the Doctor helped him out of the cramped space. He straightened and stretched, and introduced himself. "They call me Porridge. Oh, it's good to be out of that box".

Webley turned to Angie and pretended to pull a coin from behind her ear. "For you, miss, an Imperial penny" he smiled, handing it to her.

Laura frowned slightly. "Wait…but the Doctor's the one who worked it out" she reminded them, "Shouldn't he get the penny?"

"Let her keep it" the Time Lord said generously, "It'll be a souvenir…" He was about to suggest that Artie get a souvenir as well, but then he noticed a small swarm of tiny, silvery bugs crawling and slithering across the floor. Before he could investigate them, Webley was calling for them to come and have a look at the rest of his waxwork collection.

"I have not one, but three Cybermen in my collection" Webley announced proudly, pulling the shrouds off two other robots in an exhibit labelled 'The Great Enemy'. The Doctor immediately stepped up and scanned them, not wanting to take any chances. The Cybermen had been stripped of all organic components and were totally inactivated…but there was a huge difference between being inactive…and being patient.

Meanwhile, Angie spotted a waxwork of a tall, rather pompous looking man…with a suspiciously familiar visage. "Is that the King?" she asked innocently.

"Emperor" corrected Porridge, "Ludens Nimrod Kendrick, etc, etc, the forty first. Defender of Humanity, Imperator of known space".

"He looks a bit full of himself" Clara remarked, as she and her friends came over to have a look.

"Don't say things like that about the Imperial family. You can end up on the run for the rest of your life" Porridge warned them.

Artie frowned. "They don't sound very nice".

"Yeah, you said it" agreed Charlotte, "Even rulers should be able to take criticism…in fact, they should be used to it".

Porridge cleared his throat and changed the subject. "If the kids want to ride the Spacey Zoomer, then I can operate the gravity console" he offered. They all trouped back up the steps…Angie lingered behind, holding up the penny she'd received from Webley and comparing the picture on it to the wax Emperor. "Angie!" her brother called impatiently. Angie sighed and put the coin in her pocket, hurrying to catch up.

/

The two kids were soon having the time of their lives on the amusement park ride, bouncing up and floating down in micro gravity, giggling and cheering. "Wow!" Artie hollered in delight

"Smile!" called Clara, holding up her phone, "Say, 'Spacey Zoomer'!"

"Look at us! We're flying!"

"Having a good time?!" the Doctor called to them, grinning happily. He couldn't help it, he liked kids; he liked it when they were happy…and he hoped, because even he'd noticed Angie's attitude, that perhaps having fun like this might cheer her up a bit. Porridge switched off the anti-gravity and the kids came back down to the ground, smiles wreathing their faces.

"I think that's the most fun I've had in my whole life" Artie happily told the Doctor and Clara. They both smiled at him, and then looked expectantly at Angie, wondering what she thought.

"It was", she caught herself, "Okay".

The Doctor just smiled, hiding his disappointment. He knew she'd been enjoying herself, but she didn't want to admit it…was that just a teenager thing? He was pretty sure it was just a teenager thing. He walked off a little ways, pulling out his sonic and scanning the air with it.

"Clara, I think outer space is actually very interesting" Artie informed his nanny, who gave him a quick one armed hug.

She looked over at the Doctor and her friends and declared, "Right. Wonderful day out, Doctor, but time to get the kids home" – After all, Charlotte was right, things _did_ tend to escalate during adventures.

No sooner had she thought this, than things started to escalate. "Yeah, err, no" the Doctor said awkwardly, "Not quite ready to leave just yet".

"Why not?" asked Clara, pausing at the door of the TARDIS.

"I dunno. Reasons" he replied, distracted.

"What reasons?"

"Insects" he declared, "Funny insects. I should add them to my funny insect collection".

"You collect funny insects?" Clara asked disbelievingly. Well, actually she wouldn't put it past him, but that seemed a bit out there even for the Doctor.

"Yeah, I'm starting to, right now".

Angie frowned at the notion that they'd have to stay in the rundown park for even longer. "Well, what are we supposed to do then?"

"Maybe some of the other rides are still working" Artie suggested reasonably.

"Err, Doctor, can I talk to you for a minute?" Charlotte asked all of a sudden; she quickly walked over and stood up on a nearby rock, so she could sling an arm around his shoulders. "Were you going to suggest that the kids stay in Webley's room? The room with the two Cybermen in it, and another in the next room?" she inquired, giving him a look that he'd learned to interpret as ' _You're an idiot sometimes'._

She had a point; leaving the kids alone with Cybermen, even supposedly deactivated Cybermen (since they never really were) probably wasn't the best idea. "Should we take them home?" he asked immediately. After all, the last time he hadn't listened to her, they'd nearly been turned into crispy zombies.

Charlotte bit her lip, hesitant. "I…I dunno. I know everything works out…I guess if they just stay with us we can keep an eye on them".

"Okay" he nodded; she pulled her arm away and he spun on his heel, clapping his hands together. "Porridge, do you mind giving this lot a tour? If there's anything worth taking a tour of, that is. None of you wander off, understand? Now, I'm not just saying don't wander off, I mean it. Otherwise you'll wander off and the next thing you know, somebody's going to have to start rescuing somebody".

"From what?" asked Angie.

"Nothing" he backtracked, "Nobody needs rescuing from anything. Don't wander off. I'm off to look at wax and funny insects" he rambled, walking off without giving Porridge a chance to agree.

"Hang on; are we supposed to just wait here?" Clara called after him.

"I won't be long!"

Laura turned to Porridge and politely asked, "Um, would you mind showing us around a bit? I mean…I know it's ruined but we can pretend it's a ghost tour…or something".

Angie looked dismayed. "I don't want to walk around a broken down old theme park" she complained, "Why can't we just explore inside the Doctor's phone box?"

"There won't be much to see in there" Porridge commented, nodding at the TARDIS. Before Angie could retort that it was bigger on the inside, Clara quickly interjected, "We'll just have a quick look round and then we'll come back to the TARDIS, okay?"

" _I'd_ like to look around" Artie mentioned, turning to his big sister and pleading, "Come on Angie, we're on a different planet! Don't you want to see a bit more of it?"

"There's nothing to see" she grumbled, but protested no further. Porridge led them back to the main part of the park and they ventured forth…despite the fact that they were nowhere near the Cybermen, as far as Charlotte and Laura knew, the dilapidated rides and darkened sky gave them both a deep feeling of foreboding. Doubts danced about in Charlotte's head – _Should we have left the kids in the TARDIS? Should I suggest going back? I don't know how we can stop the Cybermen from kidnapping them…but it's not like it really seemed to affect them much…_

/

Back in the chess room, Webley took a drink from his hip flask and a bite of Artie's sandwich. "Total takings for the day, one sandwich…" he said as he rearranged the chess pieces back into the correct places, "Better than no sandwich, of course; not as good as two sandwiches, or even a chicken"-

Suddenly, the Cyberman's hands grabbed his wrists, startling him. "That's a bit odd" he said shakily, trying to pull away, but the Cyber had his hands in a death grip. "That's not funny. Give me my hands back!" he cried…and stared fearfully as lots of tiny silver bug-like robots swarmed out of the Cyberman's empty eye-sockets and down its arms, across to _his_ arms, skittering up towards his face as the Cyberman rasped the words, "Upgrade in progress!"

Webley screamed as the robots seemed to burrow into his skin and invade his very mind. Just then the Doctor rushed in, having heard him screaming, sonic screwdriver at the ready. "Hold on!" he cried, flashing the robots with the sonic in an attempt to deactivate them. Webley shuddered as if being electrocuted; the Cyberman suddenly let him go and he staggered backwards, clutching his head.

Concerned, the Doctor took a step towards the man…but then Webley stiffened, and straightened up, lowering his hands. One side of his face was covered in metal circuitry, a miniature conversion…Webley stared at the Doctor with blank eyes, and without a word, he disappeared in a flash of light.

/

Porridge did his best to give a tour of the dilapidated rollercoasters, buildings and booths…of course, there was only so much one could say about what something used to be. He was relieved when the little boy, Artie, asked if he knew the names of any of the stars they could see in the incredibly clear sky. That was a topic he _was_ well versed in; he pointed out particularly bright stars and traced his finger over constellations. Artie was fascinated; his sister, not so much.

"I hate the future" she grumbled, scowling at her mobile phone, "It's stupid. There's not even phone service. What are we even doing here?"

Clara sighed and told her, "We're just waiting for the Doctor to do…whatever it is he's doing. Do you want to borrow my phone?" she offered generously.

"Don't be stupid, your phone won't have any service either".

"Good point" Charlotte interjected, before Clara could explain the universal roaming feature, "Guess you'll have to do without a phone for a few hours; shock, horror" she said sarcastically. Clara frowned at her, and Angie just rolled her eyes, but Charlotte wasn't finished. "You know, we didn't _have_ to bring you along with us. You asked to come; the least you can do is _pretend_ to be interested".

"Why should I listen to you?" Angie scoffed, "And you _did_ have to let us come, or we'd have shown our dad pictures of Clara time travelling with you two and her boyfriend". That last comment made Clara splutter, eyes wide in surprise. They thought she – and the Doctor – no!

"Yes, because he totally wouldn't think you'd just Photo-Shopped them" Charlotte retorted, with even more sarcasm layering her voice. Angie couldn't think of a good response, so she merely scowled at Charlotte and walked off a little way, holding her phone up in a vain attempt to get a signal. Clara felt like she should say something about the way Charlotte was acting towards Angie, but she was too preoccupied with the girl's 'boyfriend' comment.

To get her mind off that, Clara followed Charlotte over to Laura, Porridge and Artie. "Mr Porridge, was this really the biggest amusement park ever?" the young boy was asking just as they came over.

"In the universe, they say" the little man nodded, "Hedgewick bought the planet cheap. It'd been trashed in the Cyberwars".

"The what-wars?" asked Artie, "I've never heard of them".

"No, I suppose you wouldn't have. We were fighting the Cybermen…actually; we were getting creamed by the Cybermen".

"You mean those silver robots? What did they do?"

Porridge hesitated, trying to think of a way to phrase it all that was kid friendly…not an easy task. "The Cybermen…are always upgrading themselves. That's why it was so hard for us to beat them; sometimes we fought to a draw, but then they'd fix all their weaknesses and get the upper hand back again".

"But you did beat them, right? Cause Mr Webley said there were no Cybermen around anymore".

"Yeah, we got rid of them…you really don't want to know how" Porridge warned him grimly.

"Yes, I do. I can handle it, I'm thirteen" the boy insisted stubbornly, putting on a brave face. Clara knew better, however; if Artie heard anything alarming or scary, he'd end up having nightmares about it.

She quickly intervened and suggested, "Artie, why don't you go talk to your sister, see if you can get her to stop being such a grump".

He didn't exactly look enthusiastic about this prospect. "Nothing can cheer Angie up when she gets like this" he reminded his nanny…but he could tell that she was just trying to stop him finding out how the Cybermen were stopped. He still wanted to know, but he decided to humour her, since she'd been so nice to bring them to outer space. Maybe the Doctor could explain it when he got back.

Once Artie was out of earshot, Clara couldn't help but ask curiously, "So, err, how _did_ you defeat the Cybermen?"

Porridge sighed, and pointed up at a dark, blank patch of sky, like a shadowy island in a near infinite sea of starlight. "Look up there. That corner of sky? What do you see?"

Nothing" she replied, "It's just black. No stars, no nothing".

"It used to be the Tiberion Spiral Galaxy. A million star systems, a hundred million worlds, a billion trillion people. It's not there anymore. No more Tiberion Galaxy. No more Cybermen. It was effective" he explained solemnly.

Dismayed, Clara murmured, "It's horrible".

"Yeah, I feel like a monster sometimes".

"Why?"

"Because instead of mourning a billion trillion dead people, I just feel sorry for the poor blighter who had to press the button and blow it all up" Porridge admitted. Clara almost asked who that person was, but then realised that she didn't actually want to know.

"Porridge?" Artie called over; he and Angie were standing a little way away, and he was pointing at a building that appeared to be occupied. "What's that over there?"

"Oh, that's the barracks for those soldiers" he called back.

"Can we go there?" asked Angie. It had to be less boring than this.

"What about the Doctor?" Laura wondered.

Charlotte pulled out her phone and remarked, "I'll ring him".

/

At first, the Doctor just stared dumbly at the now empty space, previously occupied by Webley. He shook off his surprise and turned to the Cyberman in the chair, taking care to keep his distance. "Good morning, sleepy head" he muttered, looking at the readings from the sonic, "Don't have much battery left, do you? You've been inactive for a heck of a long time".

" _ **The…Cyber…men…will…rise**_ " it intoned, or at least attempted to.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Rise from where? What are you planning?" he demanded.

" _ **The…Cyberiad will…emerge. This…planet…will be our base**_ ".

"How many Cybermen are on this planet?"

" _ **Thousands. Millions. The Cyberiad will conquer the galaxies**_ ".

"I'm assuming that this 'Cyberiad' you keep going on about is a warship" the Doctor surmised…the Cybermen made no indication to the negative (or the positive, for that matter) so he took it as a yes. "So, back in the war the Cybermen picked out an abandoned theme park planet – can't fault your real estate choice, I'd love to live on a theme park planet, although perhaps not one quite so bashed up. You stored as many of your soldiers here as possible to escape the end of the war and now you're planning a grand comeback, is that about right?"

" _ **Information…incorrect**_ " the Cybermen intoned, " _ **The planet was not abandoned when the Cybermen arrived**_ ".

The Doctor's eyes narrowed at this piece of information, and the implications therein. "You've been taking your time" he remarked, "Of course, judging by the state of your power cells, you and your buddies have been using up all your energy just keeping yourselves from shutting down completely. Oh, and you've also been developing these little beauties" he smiled, scanning the mites that were skittering about on the chess table, crawling over the pieces but otherwise not doing any harm. "Not even Cybermats now, eh? Cyber-mites, very clever" he admitted.

" _ **The Cyberiad has been waiting. The Cyber-mites are designed for infiltration and partial conversion**_ **".**

"Yes, I've already had a demonstration. Tell me, do you know who I am?"

There was a long pause. "… _ **You are the Doctor. You are an enemy of the Cybermen**_ ".

"Guilty as charged" the Doctor smirked, but then his face and voice went hard, "So you know that I'm going to stop you. There are people on this planet who are important to me…I won't let you harm them, or anyone else. The rise of the Cybermen isn't going to happen today, nor ever".

" _ **It is inevitable. It will begin**_ ".

The Doctor ignored the Cybermen and focused instead on the little Mites. "Hello, little guys. Now, there's a local transmat link open to your home. If I can just find the frequency…" he fiddled with the sonic; there was a flash of light around him and he suddenly found himself somewhere else; a sterile, metallic room. "Hey, that really shouldn't have worked" he remarked in surprise.

There was movement in the shadows and Webley stepped forward, the partial conversion now covering nearly all of one side of his face. "Welcome, Doctor" he greeted, in an as yet unaltered voice.

"Webley…I'm sorry" he apologised, knowing that there was no way to reverse the process. The man said nothing, so the Doctor decided to ask another question. "I forgot to ask your chess buddy. What are all the Cybermen waiting for?"

"We needed children, but the children had stopped coming" Webley explained, tapping into the Cybermen hive mind, "You brought us children. Hail to you, the Doctor, saviour of the Cybermen!" he cheered. The Doctor's eyes widened in alarm, and he backed away a few steps. Now he realised why Charlotte had wanted to keep Angie and Artie away from the Cybermen in Webley's collection. He had to get out of here and warn them!

Straightaway, he attempted to reverse the polarity of the transmat, but it had apparently shut down upon his arrival. "Don't try to teleport back out" Webley advised, "The Cyber-mites transmatted you here themselves" he explained, resting his hand on a low, circular table and allowing some of the Mites to crawl into his palm.

He had to keep Webley talking until he could figure out a way out of here. "What did Cybermen need children for?" he asked, trying to press down his anger at the thought of innocent young lives being harmed in any way.

"As the battle raged between humanity and the Cyberiad, the Cyber-planners built a Valkyrie, to save critically damaged units and bring them here, and one by one, repair them" he informed the Doctor, apparently going for the full history lesson.

"The people who vanished from the amusement park, they were spare parts for repairs".

"We've upgraded ourselves. The next model will be undefeatable".

"Nothing's undefeatable, and you still haven't answered my question".

"We needed children to build a new Cyber-planner" Webley explained, "A child's brain, with its infinite potential, is perfect for our needs. But we no longer need the children. The Cyber-mites have been scanning your brain, Doctor. It's quite remarkable".

"Also completely useless to you" the Doctor pointed out, "Cybermen use human parts. I'm not human. You can't convert non-humans".

"Well, that was true a long time ago" Webley conceded, "But we've upgraded ourselves. Current Cyber-units use almost any living components" he revealed, before tossing his handful of Cyber-mites at the Doctor's face. Caught off guard, the Doctor didn't have time to throw up strong enough shields; he screamed as the Mites drilled themselves into his skin and telepathic control signals into his brain, taking him over.

The Cyber-planner straightened up, and began investigating it's…his…new form. "Incorporated" he stated; like Webley, his voice was not yet monotone and robotic. "Yes. Ah. Unfamiliar pulmonary set-up, nervous system hyperconductive, remarkable brain processing speed… Ho, ho. Amazing" he remarked. It was strange to use such terminology…almost as if he had emotions. That would soon be taken care of…without warning, the original consciousness reasserted itself, with a burst of neural activity from the pain receptors.

"Get out of my head!" the Doctor screamed angrily, clutching his skull. He fought for control against the Cyber-Planner…then his phone buzzed in his pocket, distracting him. The Cyber-Planner regained control, and searched for the primitive communications device. The two options on the screen were 'Accept' and 'End Call'. He debated which one to press for a moment, and then clicked 'Accept', and holding the phone to his auditory sensor…no, it was called an ear, wasn't it?

The ringing ceased, and a human female voice spoke from the communications device. "Hey, Doctor, is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine" the Planner replied, having decided to pretend to be the Doctor, so as to catch the humans off guard.

"Okay…listen, we're gonna go visit the…err…the castle, so we'll be there if you need us".

"Understood…I'll be there very soon" he replied, before pressing 'End Call'.


	23. Chapter 23 - Nightmare in Silver Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who (or the Incredibles).

A/N: I wanted to try and get all the episodes into two chapters, but I've realised that it would be better to split this into three parts and make the final chapter, a 'double' of sorts. Chapter 24 will be the 3rd part of NIS, and also the 'breather' chapter that usually comes in between the episode chapters.

Nightmare in Silver – Part Two

Charlotte frowned when the Doctor suddenly hung up on her…he hadn't sounded like himself, and she had her suspicions as to why. She turned around and saw the others looking at her expectantly. "Is he coming?" asked Clara.

"Err…" Charlotte wasn't sure what to say…but she decided honesty was the best policy. "You see, he sounded kind of…off, on the phone, like it wasn't him talking. He _may_ or may not have been overtaken by a Cyber-Planner" she explained, wincing.

"So he's in trouble?" Clara demanded worriedly.

"No, no…well, yes, but he's got it under control. We just have to make sure the planet doesn't get blown up in the meantime".

"Why would it get blown up? And how do you know he's got it under control?"

"Err…because I've seen it before? Not like this, though…actually, this might turn out better, in a way. If the Cyber-Planner is in the Doctor's mind already, they won't need to send any Cybermen after the kids…" Charlotte nearly face-palmed when she realised what she'd just said.

Clara's eyes went round as saucers. "They were after the kids?!" she cried in alarm.

"Um, Clara?" said Laura, pointing behind them. Clara looked around and saw Angie walking into the barracks, Artie in tow, obviously having grown tired of waiting for the adults to stop talking. She immediately ran after them; Laura quickly followed.

Porridge looked at Charlotte and inquired, "Are there actually Cybermen here?"

"Err…there's sort of an army of them. Sorry" she said apologetically, before hurrying to catch up with her friends. Porridge stood there for a moment digesting this, then gave a resigned sigh, and made his way after her.

/

Meanwhile, in the barracks, one platoon member nicknamed Beauty was discussing the state of their equipment with Captain Ferrin. "I can't fix this" she told the captain, holding up a slightly battered communications device.

"It can't be broken" Ferrin insisted, "It's a solid state subether ansible class communicator. Just run the diagnostics" she instructed.

"There's nothing left to diagnose. It's not broken, it's empty. All the components have gone" Beauty explained.

"Well, you must have replacement parts".

"Not enough to build a new one".

Another soldier, nicknamed Brains, hurried over and informed Ferrin, "Captain, the weather controller is malfunctioning again. There's a storm, heat waves, snow…"

The captain bit back an exasperated groan, but before she could decide what to do, the two children from the Spacey Zoomer ride wandered right into the barracks…alerting her to the fact that nobody was on guard duty. Seriously, did she have to do _everything_ herself?

"Hello" the teenage girl greeted, "We're bored". The boy gave them a shy wave.

Ferrin walked over to them. "You were with the Procunsul and his aides, weren't you? Where is he?"

"You mean the Doctor? I dunno, he went to look at bugs or something" she shrugged, "Clara and those friends of hers are back there with Porridge" she added, jerking a thumb over her shoulder.

"They're eating porridge?" Ferrin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, Porridge. The little bloke?" asked Angie, "You must have seen him".

Before the captain could ask who she meant, Clara hurried into the barracks. "Angie, Artie!"

The teenager rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You always have to show up and spoil everything" she complained, scowling at Clara, "We weren't doing anything, why can't you just leave us alone?"

Laura frowned slightly and explained, "She's just worried about you, Angie".

"What would you know?" Angie sneered, "You're supposed to be such good friends with Clara; she never talked about you before now".

"Angie!" Clara scolded, embarrassed. She turned to Laura and hastily explained, "I only didn't talk about you and Charlotte and the Doctor because I didn't want to make a big deal out of things".

"Clara, it's okay!" Laura reassured her, "I understand. But err…I'm not sure if they do" she added sheepishly, gesturing to Captain Ferrin and the rest of the platoon, who were all watching them curiously.

The captain cleared her throat and turned to Clara, assuming an air of respectful authority. "Ma'am, with respect, I must ask that you and your…associates vacate the premises. This is a secured area, off limits to civilians" she stated firmly, whilst thinking _Or at least it's supposed to be._

Clara blinked. "Oh, right, yes, of course" she nodded, turning to usher the children away…but then her curiosity started getting the better of her. "Although, actually…seeing as how I am an…aide, to the um, proconsul? I think that I…that is, we, ought to know what's going on here" she told the captain, trying to sound confident and important…to sound like the Doctor, basically. She thought she was pulling it off pretty well.

Just then, Charlotte caught up with them…Porridge hung back on the sidelines. "Is everything okay?" she asked, watching what appeared to be a stand-off between the captain and Clara. The latter shook her head and replied, "No, no. I was just asking the captain why this platoon is stationed here. Is there something dangerous on this planet?" she asked pointedly, "Something like…oh, I don't know…Cybermen?"

This last question received an incredulous stare. "There are no more Cybermen, they're extinct" Ferrin declared, before reluctantly adding, "If you must know, we're a punishment platoon. We were sent out here…to the back of beyond…so we can't get into trouble".

 _Well…this explains a lot_ Clara realised, before clearing her throat and tactfully as possible asking, "So…does that mean your soldiers…don't have too much fighting experience?"

"Not really" Beauty admitted; the captain shot her a glare, but quickly schooled her expression into a professional expression. "This planet is abandoned...were you expecting a fight with someone?"

"Well, I was…uh…Charlotte, explain, please".

Charlotte stared at her with a 'You've got to be kidding me' expression. She gulped and clasped her hands behind her back. "Err…thing is, the err, proconsul…he went to investigate a piece of technology that isn't native to this planet, and when I contacted him a few minutes ago, he was…speaking in a monotone, and you may have noticed that he's usually very emotive. I…we can't prove anything, but from what he mentioned before he left and given what we know of the Cybermen…we have reason to believe there are Cybermen here on this planet, and they're waking up".

/

When the Planner ended the call, he intended to head straight to the castle and deal with the humans…the Doctor's consciousness reasserted itself, and he literally forced himself to turn away from the door of the lab. "Don't you _dare_ go near them" he growled to himself, before switching back to the Planner, the two of them fighting for control of his mind and body.

"Relax, relax. If you just relax, you will find this a perfectly pleasant experience. You are being upgraded and incorporated into the Cyberiad as a Cyber-planner".

"Get out of my head!"

The Doctor found himself facing off against…well, himself, only with cybernetic implants on one side of the other's face. They were in some kind of void, with signals flashing in the background. "What is this place, a network? A hive? You're getting signals from every Cyberman everywhere. How many of you are there?"

The Planner ignored him, marvelling at the incredible efficiency of his new mind. "Oh, this is brilliant. I'm so clever already, and now I'm a million times more clever. And what a brain. Not a human brain, not even slightly human. I mean, I'm going to have to completely rework the neural interface, but this is going to be the most efficient Cyber-planner. Not a great name that, is it? I could call myself Mister Clever. So much raw data….Time Lords" he gasped, "There's information on the Time Lords in here. Oh, this is just dreamy" he smiled, actually sounding delighted.

"Right, I'm allowing you access to memories on Time Lord regeneration" the Doctor informed his alter-ego, as ten of his previous faces flashed before them.

"Fantastic!" the Planner, or Mr Clever, grinned in excitement. This brain was so powerful, it was overriding the emotional inhibitor…but hopefully, once the upgrade was complete, that would settle down.

"I could regenerate right now" the Doctor threatened, "A big blast of regeneration energy, burn out any little Cyber-widgets in my brain, along with everything you're connected to. Don't want to. You use this me up, who knows what we'll get next? But I can" he warned, hoping that the Planner didn't sense he was lying through his teeth. Fortunately, he had a lot of practice.

"Stalemate, then" the Planner conceded, "One of us needs to control this head. We're too well-balanced… What did you say? No, no, no, no, no. I heard you. Rhetorical device to keep me thinking about it a bit more. Stalemate?" he considered it, "We each control forty nine point eight, eight one percent of this brain. Point two three eight of the brain is still in the balance. Whoever gets this gets the whole thing".

"Do you play chess?" the Doctor asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

"The rules of chess are in my memory banks. You're proposing we play chess to end the stalemate?"

"Winner takes all. Nobody can access that portion of the brain without winning the game" the Doctor laid out the stakes, holding a hand out to his alter-ego. The pair shook hands, agreeing on the stakes.

"You can't win" the Planner told him, despite speaking to thin air (he didn't count Webley, since the man was just standing there awaiting orders).

"Try me".

"You understand, when I do win, the Cyberiad gets your brains and memories. All of it".

"When I win, you get out of my head, and nobody dies. You got that? Nobody dies!"

"So sentimental…very well, it's a deal. Webley!" the Planner barked, and Webley turned to him, stomping like a Cyberman. "Return to the activated Cybermen. Tell one to observe the humans but not to engage them until I give the word, and the other to seek out the Doctor's time machine and prevent their getting access to it. Then return here…and bring a chess set with you".

Webley snapped a salute and teleported away. The Planner sat down on one side of the table and stretched. In the meantime, he would review his knowledge of the Earth game chess, analyse the winning moves and determine the most efficient way to beat and overcome the Doctor.

/

Of all the things that Charlotte had expected, immediate denial was…actually very high on the list. The two nearest soldiers looked alarmed at the news; the captain looked disbelieving and a little bit angry. "I told you, there are no Cybermen. They were all destroyed. The war's been over for ages!"

"I know it's hard to believe, but the Doctor – the proconsul, whatever you call him – he has experience fighting the Cybermen. I've…researched the Cybermen, and if there's one thing I know, it's that they are survivors. They don't need organic components to function, and they can power down for centuries but be at peak efficiency in minutes. This planet was taken by the Cybermen in the war, wasn't it? Is it so hard to imagine they might have stashed some of their platoons away here as well? It's a big place, after all".

"It's true, honest" Laura interjected, "Please; you've got to believe us".

Angie frowned at the adults, accusing and a little worried. "Hang on...did you know?" she demanded, "Did the Doctor know this place was dangerous?"

"Why would he bring us here if it wasn't safe?" Artie asked, looking confused and scared. Clara walked over and put a comforting arm around his shoulders; she didn't know what to say, and looked to her fellow companions for help.

"He didn't know it was dangerous when we came here" Laura explained quickly, not mentioning that this was because she and Charlotte hadn't told him. She tried not to feel too guilty; after all, it wasn't their job to make sure every adventure went perfectly.

"Those bugs he mentioned finding, I think it was actually Cyber-tech. He just didn't want us to worry" Charlotte added.

 _Well, I'm worried now_ thought Clara; it still alarmed her that the Cybermen had apparently been planning to kidnap Angie and Artie. "Right, that's it. Come on, you two, we're going back to the TARDIS" she declared, attempting to usher Artie and Angie back to the time machine. The younger was more than willing – all this talk of robots hiding in the park was creeping him out – but as usual, Angie was stubborn. "Don't tell me you're taking this seriously" she scoffed, "Those cyber-things weren't even active, Webley said so".

Charlotte ignored the girl and turned to Captain Ferrin. "Captain, I understand why you wouldn't believe me…but I would not lie about a threat to myself and my friends" she said, completely serious.

"Ma'am, if there are indeed Cybermen out there, my platoon can deal with them, and there are protocols if we cannot immediately find and destroy them".

"Do those protocols happen to involve blowing up the planet?" Charlotte asked knowingly, "We're not going to do that. At the very least, wait until we've got the children off planet, then you can detonate it to your heart's content" she added 'generously'. Ferrin 's eyes narrowed at the sarcastic tone, but before she could make a comeback, a familiar voice spoke up.

"I like that plan better" Porridge admitted, having finally entered the barracks. Charlotte jumped a bit; she'd actually forgotten for a moment that he was there. This was nothing compared to Ferrin 's surprise, who stared at Porridge in amazement before quickly regaining her composure. "Have you reported the possibility of a Cybermen incursion to the Imperium?" he questioned; partly to see if they'd be able to inform the Imperium about _him._

Ferrin admitted, "We can't. No communicators".

"Are we out of range?" Laura asked curiously. Before the captain could stop her, Beauty explained, "They've all stopped working; they're just empty, like they've been dismantled from the inside out".

"Well, then there's _something_ out there" Porridge reasoned, before adding, "But it's your call, captain. After all…you outrank us".

She resisted the urge to glare at him, and breathed out from between clenched teeth. "In the circumstances….I will consider the possibility of the threat" she conceded, "And forego extreme solutions…until it's more convenient. You two, have our Cyberiad class weaponry brought out of storage" she ordered Beauty and Brains. The two of them gave somewhat clumsy salutes and hurried off to follow out this command.

Then she turned to Charlotte and demanded, "The proconsul you arrived with…he isn't the proconsul at all, is he?"

"Ah, well...not really" Charlotte admitted, "But you _did_ say your platoon was at his service".

"That was before I knew he was an imposter".

"Actually, the psychic paper only showed you what he wanted you to see. He never knows what it's actually going to say".

"You said that you'd been in contact with him, and believe _he_ was being impersonated, by a Cyberman. I am willing to send out a search patrol…if it will put your mind at ease" Ferrin offered, somewhat condescendingly.

"That won't be necessary, thank you" Charlotte replied, "And he wasn't being…or, actually, I suppose he was being impersonated" she mused. It occurred to her that the Planner, when it took over the Doctor, still enunciated and emoted like he did…so if she had noticed that his voice sounded oddly flat, did that mean that he'd _wanted_ her to notice? Perhaps…but which him, the Doctor or the Planner?

"Shouldn't we be rescuing him?" Clara asked, frowning in concern. Even if Charlotte and Laura had seen a version of events in their world where the Doctor was okay…well, he was always going on about how wibbley wobbley time was. What if he needed their help?

Charlotte bit her lip and sighed. "Clara, I know I'm asking a lot, but please, trust me when I say the Doctor can handle it" she pleaded, before admitting, "He'll come to us, we just…I think we need to be somewhere a bit more defensible, no offence" she added to Ferrin , "Um, d'you have a map of the park anywhere?"

The captain nodded and led them over to a large advertising overview of the map. "All these areas are within walking distance" she explained, pointing several out, "The beach, the Giant's Cauldron, Natty Longshoe's Comical Castle"-

"Real castle?" Clara interrupted, "Drawbridge, moat?"

"Yes, but comical".

"We'll go there" she decided.

Charlotte looked around and did a double take when she realised that one member of their party was missing. "Wait, where's Laura?"

Before she could get too alarmed – although she mentally kicked herself for not noticing her best friend had vanished – Laura came running up, looking alarmed. "What's up?" asked Charlotte.

Laura breathlessly explained, "I went to see if the Cybermen had found the TARDIS…and they have!"

"What?!"

"There was one standing in front of it, like it was guarding it or something. I don't know if it saw me, though".

"Let's hope it didn't" said Clara, "Still, it looks like the castle is in the opposite direction, so that's good".

Porridge clapped his hands together. "Right, let's all spend the night at Natty Longshoe's Comical Castle" he remarked with mock enthusiasm.

The soldiers gathered up the supplies and set off for the castle. At the Captain's request Porridge, the girls and the kids walked in the centre of the formation. When they arrived, Ferrin ordered several of the soldiers to sweep the area for possible threats. Not that she completely believed the newcomer's claims; it was just standard protocol to secure an area before they set up a base.

In the courtyard, the rest of the soldiers began setting up defences and checking the weaponry. Clara and her friends offered to help unpack the supplies and get everything organised; Artie volunteered as well, but a reluctant Angie simply claimed she'd supervise. Clara sidled over to Charlotte and tugged her off to the side by her arm. "Hey. What's your deal with Angie?" she asked quietly.

"What d'you mean?"

"You know, all those sarcastic comments and digs you keep making at her" Clara muttered, "Look, she's been through a lot and this is all unfamiliar to her, and"-

"And that gives her the right to be a brat?" Charlotte hissed back, "Clara, I'm just telling it how it is. If _you_ won't tell her to stop being ungrateful then I will".

" _I'm_ responsible for them, Charlotte. It's my job to make sure they behave, not yours".

"Well, why don't you _do_ your job?" Charlotte demanded. She wanted to take it back the minute she saw the hurt expression on Clara's face, but before she could even stammer out an apology, the bespectacled ginger soldier came over to inform Captain Ferrin , who was standing nearby (keeping an eye on Porridge), "Err, ma'am. Missy said she saw something, and then she went quiet" he explained awkwardly.

"They're on their way, then" Clara realised, before gesturing to the weapons cases and asking, "Are these all the weapons we have? One gun and these…glove thingies?"

"Cybermen have been extinct for a thousand years" the captain replied defensively, "Even one Anti-Cyber gun is a miracle. These 'glove thingies' are hand-pulsers. Touch the back of a Cyberman's head, the electomagnetic pulse deactivates it".

"I guess the tricky part is getting close enough" Charlotte commented.

"Indeed" Ferrin remarked coolly.

Clara gestured to a large black device that was clearly not a regular weapon. "What's this for? Just a mad guess here, it blows up the planet?"

"Implodes it" the captain corrected, holding up a thin black cylinder tipped with a red button, "There's also a trigger unit".

"I'll take that then" Clara decided, reaching out to take the trigger, "Is there any other way to activate the bomb?"

"It's set to respond to my voice; I have the verbal code".

"Well, then please do _not_ activate it until at the very least, the children are off planet" Clara told Ferrin , staring the older woman down. Charlotte followed suit, if only to show solidarity.

For a moment, the captain seemed tempted to argue, but at last she gave a curt nod. 'Brains', the ginger soldier, held out a clipboard and tentatively explained, "You have to sign for that trigger unit, ma'am".

"Thanks" she said, quickly scribbling a signature onto the paper. Porridge, feeling like the tense situation had been defused, reached into the box and picked up a hand-pulser. "Mind if I take one of these? Might come in handy" he joked.

Ferrin sighed and answered, "Help yourself, I'll teach you how to use it. Upstairs. _Now_ " she said pointedly, directing him towards the steps up to the battlements. He went on ahead, and she picked up the bomb, reluctantly assuring Clara that she had no intention of using it, it was merely for safekeeping.

When the two of them had reached the lower battlements, and were in relative private, the captain did exactly what she had said; showed him how to properly use the pulser without accidentally frying himself. It was pretty simple, of course, and he knew that he couldn't avoid the approaching conversation forever. So with some resignation, he eventually remarked, "You knew it was me".

"I was in the Imperial Guard, back on Caspertine" Ferrin explained, "Mostly just parades, but I had the honour to guard the old Emperor during the ice picnic".

"When the snow bears came and danced for us" he smiled, reminiscing, "That was a day".

"We're a punishment platoon. We can't beat a Cyberman, assuming that there's even one out there. The Imperium has to know what's happening".

"Like you said, the communicators are out. The only way you can report this now is to activate the bomb".

"Yes" she nodded.

"And I forbid you to do that" he said sternly.

Before Ferrin could argue, there were footsteps on the stone and Clara walked up to join them. Apparently her tone downstairs hadn't adequately conveyed the captain's desire for privacy. "I don't get it" the young woman commented, "Why would you blow up a whole planet and everybody on it just to get rid of one Cyberman?"

"We tried other ways, but they only work sometimes, so now we take drastic action" Porridge explained, "And it works".

"If you find a Cyberman and you can't destroy it immediately, you implode the planet" the captain stated, as if reciting a lesson drilled into her, "I was sent here because I didn't follow orders. I could make up for that" she pointed out, eyeing the implosion device.

"Don't you dare" Clara glared at her, "I forbid you".

"Yeah, what she said" Porridge added.

"You ran away" Ferrin shot back at him, before rounding on Clara, "I don't know who you think you are, but if it weren't for those kids with you, I would do what I was brought up to do. Live for the Empire, fight for the Empire, die for the"-

" _Down_!" – There was a frantic yell, and a shot rang out from beyond the moat. Clara and Porridge ducked a little slower, but they weren't the target; fortunately, Ferrin's training had given her fast reflexes. She immediately crouched and covered her head, feeling pieces of stone sprinkle onto her arm from where the blast had hit the wall behind her.

Porridge looked between the battlements and spotted a Cyberman looking up at them, standing at the edge of the moat. "Cyberman! Keep down!" he warned, ducking back against the wall. Shaken, the captain peered between the battlements and spotted the Cyber as well. It's second shot glanced off the stone just inches from her face, and she quickly jerked back, turning to stare at Charlotte, who had rushed up the steps and yelled the warning that had…that had saved her life.

"How did you-?"

"Long story, and you're welcome" Charlotte waved her off, before turning to Clara and asking, "Hey, you okay?"

"I think so…"

"Good. I'm sorry, by the way. I should've handled things more maturely".

"It's alright…but now we need to deal with the Cyberman. If we stay in the castle, it'll just pick us off one by one" Clara realised, "We have to take it out".

"Let's get the kids inside, out of harm's way" Charlotte suggested; the two of them scrambled over to the stairwell and hurried back downstairs to warn the others. Porridge went to follow them – he was short enough that he only had to duck a bit – and looked at a rather unnerved Ferrin.

"For what it's worth, I think these girls can help us stop those monsters" he told her solemnly. When he'd gone, Ferrin sat there for a moment coming to terms with the return of the Cybermen, but soon pulled herself together and went to rally her platoon. They were still under her command, after all.

/

The drawbridge was lowered, the main gates opened wide, and the Cyberman strode forward to investigate. A heavy set soldier backed away from it as fast as he could, making 'bring it on' gestures and taunting, "I've heard about the Cybermen since I was in my cradle. I'm not afraid of you!"

The Cyberman strode forward, intending to capture the human and take its brain (its body was not suited for conversion).

"Now!" shouted Clara; the large soldier, Ha-Ha, dived out of the way as Clara, Charlotte and Laura aimed and fired the large, heavy Anti-Cyber gun right at the Cyberman, vaporising it.

"Close the doors!" Ferrin barked, "Raise the bridge!"

"Well done, Clara!" Artie called from the window where he and his sister were watching them, along with Porridge. Clara gave him a thumbs-up and a pleased grin.

"I'd like to see you do that _without_ the gun" Angie challenged. Clara half-expected Charlotte to make some comment about that, but she merely suggested that perhaps they should put the gun down now.

"There's no sense in tiring ourselves out, since we'll probably have to use it again" she pointed out.

"You don't think that was the only one, then?"

"Is it ever?" Charlotte shrugged. Just then, Brains hurried over and informed them, "Uh, ma'ams? Beauty says she saw someone coming here, she thinks it's your friend, the Doctor…?"

"Did he look okay?" Clara asked immediately, "We have to let him in!"

So they lowered the bridge again, much to the tired soldiers chagrin, and hurried out to meet the Doctor. When he saw the soldiers emerge with weapons in hand, he immediately held up a chess board in front of his face and cried, "Argh! Don't shoot, don't shoot, I'm nice. Please, don't shoot".

"Why would they shoot?" asked Clara, running up to him, Charlotte and Laura right behind her.

The Doctor smiled to see his companions and lowered the board, cheerfully remarking, "Oh, you haven't let them blow up the planet! Good job. Where're the kids?"

"They're in the – Doctor, what happened to you?" Clara asked in alarm, seeing the silver circuitry embedded on the left side of his face; as well as, for some reason, the golden ticket.

"Err, a bit of a good news, bad news, good news again thing going on. So, the good news is, I've kidnapped the Cyber-Planner. The bad news, he's in my head. Ah, hello, captain" he greeted, nodding to Ferrin, "I can explain…"

She held a hand up and insisted, "I know you're not the Proconsul, and that there are Cybermen activating on this planet. For the time being, I've agreed not to activate the implosion device".

"Good, good. No blowing up the planet, excellent. So, other good news - there are a few more repaired and reactivated Cybermen on the way, and the Cyber-Planner's installing a patch for the gold thing. No, wait, that isn't good news, is it. Er, so, good news, I have a very good chance of winning my chess match" he smiled, holding up his chess board.

"What?" Clara asked in bewilderment. Who was he playing chess against?

"I'll explain later. In a bit of a hurry" he declared, striding past them and towards the lowered drawbridge, saying "Get me to a table, and somebody tie me up! Need hands free for chess. And immobilise me, quickly".

/

Soon, the Doctor was seated at a table and being tied to the chair by Clara, whilst Artie helped set up the chess pieces in the right places. "Right, that's good. I won't be able to move, but hands free. Good" he smiled, satisfied.

"Why do you need to be tied up?" asked Artie.

"Long story" the Doctor replied vaguely.

"You're playing chess against yourself?" Clara inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"And winning" the Doctor smiled, before reaching up and tearing off the golden ticket from his cheek. He stiffened briefly; then looked at them all with a dark stare and coolly remarked, "Actually, he has no better than a twenty five percent chance of winning at this stage in the game. Some very dodgy moves at the beginning. Hello, flesh girls. Fantastic. I'm the Cyber-Planner". For some inexplicable reason, he was talking in more of a northern accent.

Clara tugged Artie and Angie away from the table, nervously asking, "Doctor…?"

"Afraid not" the Planner smirked, "I'm working the mouth now. Allons-y. Oh, you should see the state of these neurons. He's had some cowboys in here. Ten complete _rejects_ ".

"You're not really talking like a Cyber-Planner, are you?" Charlotte commented, "It's almost as if the Doctor's mind is too strong for you".

"Oh, you'd like to think so. Ah, yes, you're the one who called and led him – _me –_ right to your little 'resistance'. You know, there's not much in here about you two" he told Charlotte and Laura, before leering at Clara, "Almost all of it's about _you._ The Impossible Girl" he remarked.

Disturbed, Clara immediately frowned and questioned, "Why am I impossible?"

"Hasn't he told you? The sly devil. Oh, dear me. Listen, soon we'll wake. We'll strip you down for spare parts, then build a spaceship and"-

"Wait, wait, are you monologuing?" Charlotte suddenly interrupted, causing the Planner to frown at her in annoyance. "I bet you are" she continued blithely, "I bet you've got this prepared speech about how feeble we are, how inevitable our defeat is, how the universe will soon be yours!"

Artie snickered; Angie crossed her arms and pointed out, "That's from _The Incredibles_ ".

"Who doesn't like to quote their favourite movies?" Charlotte shrugged, before saying to the Planner, "Oh by the way, sorry about this – Doctor". With that, she abruptly reached out and slapped him hard around the face.

"Argh, ow! Oh, that hurt!" he winced, sounding more like his old self, "Bit of pain, neural surge, just what I needed. Thank you".

"No problem".

"Why am I the impossible girl?" demanded Clara.

The Doctor waved her off, vaguely saying "It's just a thing in my head. I'll explain later".

With a sigh, she accepted this; they had bigger problems after all. "Chess game, stakes?"

"If he wins, I give up my mind and he gets access to all my memories, along with knowledge of time travel. But, if I win, he'll break his promises to get out of my head and then kill us all anyway".

"Why would you agree to that?" Angie asked incredulously.

"Good point" Charlotte agreed with her, to her surprise, before telling the Doctor, "You are _terrible_ at making deals".

"Have a bit of faith, girls…and Artie. I know what I'm doing".

"I don't understand" Artie said nervously, "Why did your voice change?"

"Because it isn't the Doctor speaking, little boy" the Planner replied, having regained control, "I know it may be confusing for your undeveloped brain, but do try to keep up".

"The Doctor's going to stop you" Laura said defiantly.

"He has about as much chance of stopping me as you do. I.E, none. Now, if you don't mind, I have a chess game to finish, and you have to die, pointlessly and very far from home" the Planner said darkly, before looking thoughtfully at the chess board. Clara ushered Artie and Angie away from him, quietly telling them that everything would be fine, they just couldn't go near him for the time being. Charlotte turned on her heel and walked towards the door…Laura murmured a quiet, "Good luck, Doctor", before she too walked away.


	24. Chapter 24 - NIS Pt 3 & Midnight Talk

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

A/N: *peeks out* Hi…long time no see. I'll be honest…there's a reason this has taken so long to update, beyond just being busy or not having the motivation. It took a while for me to even admit this to myself, but between the hiatus, and not really liking where the show was going, and getting into other shows and movie franchises…I think I've lost a lot of my interest in Doctor Who. I'm still a Whovian, but not as much as I once was. I do plan on finishing this story, and my other fanfic, but it is going to take a while.

Nightmare in Silver – Part Three

Clara was understandably reluctant to leave Angie and Artie alone with the Planner/Doctor, even though he was tied up. Laura agreed to keep an eye on things in the throne room whilst Charlotte and Clara went to inform the soldiers, including the captain, of the newest developments. Now that she'd actually _seen_ a Cyberman, Ferrin was much more willing to listen to them. "Apparently there are more Cybermen on the way" Clara told her.

"The anti-Cyber gun has about a dozen shots left before it needs to recharge" Ferrin explained.

"Yeah, unfortunately, there might be more than a dozen Cybermen" Charlotte sighed.

Clara pointed up at the wall of the battlements, at a thick cable hanging down against the bricks. "What's that cable for?" she wondered.

"Power line for the park" replied Porridge. Clara turned to Charlotte and asked her, "What would happen if we unhooked the end, dropped it into the moat and turned it on".

"It'd electrify the water, fry whatever stepped in".

"Can Cybermen fly?"

"No, but they're adaptive. Hmm…" Charlotte looked thoughtful, "Maybe we could put someone up a tower as a sniper?" she suggested.

"I'll see what I can do" Ferrin announced, striding over to two of the soldiers whilst Charlotte and Clara went to help drop the cable into the moat, and raise the drawbridge. Soon they had they two best snipers up in the two tallest towers, five soldiers wearing those hand-pulsers, the gun was mounted behind sandbags in front of the wall opposite the doors. They were _ready…_ at least, they really hoped they were.

Whilst they waited, the soldiers cooked up some hot soup. Angie and Artie came out to join them in the courtyard; it was really because they were getting creeped out by the Doctor/Planner playing chess by himself and muttering under his breath…Angie insisted it was just because she was bored. Clara let them stay, but insisted that they had to go and hide as soon as word came from the sentries that the Cybermen were approaching.

Porridge ladled some of the mixed vegetable soup…which vegetables, they didn't know…into a soup cup. "There, get that in you. Warm you up" he said, handing it to Clara with a smile.

"Oh, thank you, Porridge" she smiled in return…she was just about to take a sip when the Doctor called for her from the castle. Clara rolled her eyes and lowered the cup; but then Charlotte handed her cup to Laura and stood up, saying "It's okay, I'll go. Call me if there's trouble".

"Right" Clara nodded.

Charlotte walked into the throne room and strode over to the Doctor, who looked up from his chess set. She saw a flicker of surprise…and what she thought was annoyance pass over his face, before it settled on a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Hey, Charlotte…I thought Clara was coming. Never mind. What's our weapons strength?" he inquired curiously.

"I don't discuss assets with the enemy" she answered coolly, folding her arms.

"I'm not your enemy, Charlotte".

"Oh, not usually, but you're not exactly yourself right now. You're wasting your time anyway…Clara has the trigger unit, not me".

"Trigger unit? You mean for the bomb, the one that makes the planet go all…" he mimed something going _boom._

"Implodes it, actually…but you knew that already. Don't play dumb, Planner, it doesn't suit you".

"No, no, don't worry. The Cyber-Planner's hibernating between moves right now".

"Oh, please. You're in the Doctor's head, you have access to his memories. You know that he knows that I know that you're not him".

"Charlotte, I'm telling you, I am the Doctor" he insisted.

Charlotte rolled her eyes, and decided, "This is getting old. Only one way to be sure"- she made to slap him, but he shot his left hand out and grabbed her right wrist, gripping it tight enough to twist the skin. Charlotte winced in pain and tried to prise his fingers away.

"You are a very troublesome girl" the Planner glared at her, "I'll upgrade you first".

She thought fast and quickly pinched the skin on his arm. He pulled his hand away from her wrist and rubbed the sore spot, pouting.

"Ow! That hurt!"

" _This_ hurt!" Charlotte snapped, gesturing to her wrist. His fingers had left marks…when the Doctor noticed them, he blanched and looked guilty.

"Oh, Charlotte, I'm _so_ sorry".

"Don't apologise, it's not your fault" she rolled her eyes, "It just stings. He wanted to break the trigger unit, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did…but Clara has it. That means they'll go after her" the Doctor said worriedly.

"I'm pretty sure they're going after all of us. Clara will be fine…now come on, you've got a chess game to win" she smiled encouragingly, before turning and walking away. She only made it halfway across the room when she heard him chuckle sinisterly behind her. Charlotte paused and looked over her shoulder to remark, "You know, Cybermen aren't supposed to laugh. What's so funny?"

The Planner gave her an almost predatory grin and sing-songed, "Good news, boys and girls…they're almost here!"

Charlotte broke into a run; she dashed out of the throne room and joined her friends, as well as the captain and Porridge, up on the battlements. Stretched out before them, marching inexorably towards the castle, were hundreds of Cybermen. Shiny, fresh out of hibernation Cybermen, to be more precise; their chances didn't exactly look good. "What did he want?" Clara asked as Charlotte was catching her breath from the sprint.

"It was the other one – he wanted to break the trigger unit. Clara, you've got the trigger for the bomb, so you're gonna be more of a target. Just so you know".

Clara blinked several times. "Not sure I wanted to know that".

"We need to use the bomb" Ferrin insisted, "We have to! We _cannot_ fight all of these!"

"How do you suggest we get off the planet first?" Charlotte demanded, "They're between us and the TARDIS!"

"That isn't my concern; my concern is protecting the empire".

"Hey, you might be willing to martyr yourself, but we're not!"

Laura turned to Porridge and asked, "Do you any way we could escape? We have to do _something_ ".

The little man hesitated…in truth, he _did_ know how they could all safely get away, but it would mean revealing his identity….then he peered out over the ramparts, standing on some upturned boxes, and realised how foolish he was. He ran away from the empire, but if he didn't act, if they didn't swiftly end this threat, there would end up being no empire to go back to. He didn't want to have to blow up _another_ galaxy.

So he gulped, and nodded. "I know a way. We need everyone in one place, and we'll need the bomb" he explained, climbing down from the crates and hurrying as fast as he could for the stairs.

"Wait, what about the Doctor?" asked Clara, as they followed Porridge back to the courtyard, "He's still got a Cyber-thing in his head".

There was a sound of firing, two whistling energy blasts, and two screams, one after the other. Ferrin marched over with the bomb, soldiers in tow, face stony. "We just lost the sentries. What do we need to do?"

"Come on inside, we need everyone nearby".

"Does anyone have one of those hand-pulse thingies?" asked Charlotte. Brains held one up, and she took it from him. Once they were inside the throne room, where Clara had sent Angie and Artie for their safety, the Doctor looked up from his chessboard and asked, "What's going on?"

Without answering, Charlotte strode over to him and asked bluntly, "Do you want me to hit you?"

"No – Ow!" he cried, rubbing his sore cheek when she slapped him hard anyway, "What was that for?"

"Peace of mind. Get your sonic out, hurry!"

The Doctor tried to move his arm and pull the sonic from his pocket…and found that he couldn't move it. "He's…argh…got control of the right arm!"

"Well, take it back, it's your body!"

"Charlotte, if it was that easy, I wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Eh, true" she conceded, and stepped forwards, intending to pull out the sonic from his pocket herself.

"Stay back!" he shouted, and she jumped backwards, staring at him with wide eyes. "Sorry…" he ground out, shifting his arm with herculean effort and pulling out the sonic. Then he held out his hand, and she quickly placed the hand-pulser on his palm, making sure it was upside down. The Doctor groaned with the effort of winning the battle of wills, slammed the device against the cybernetic implants on his cheek, and switched on the sonic.

He jerked like he'd been electrocuted – perhaps he had been – and slumped in his seat, unresponsive, much to the alarm of everyone watching. "Doctor?!" Clara exclaimed, rushing forward to see if he was okay, and Charlotte was moving to lift his head – only for him to suddenly sit up, the implants burned away, grinning like a madman.

"Checkmate!"

Clara, Laura and Charlotte sagged in relief. "Err, there's still an army of Cybermen out to get us" Clara pointed out as she hurried to help Charlotte tug the ropes around the Doctor loose.

"Porridge, you said you know a way out" said Laura, and all eyes turned to the small man. He nodded and turned to Ferrin, holding his arms out for the bomb she was holding.

With a raised eyebrow, she gave it to him, and remarked "I could have activated it. I know the verbal passcode".

"So do I, but it isn't keyed to alert the Imperial Flagship to your location at the sound of your voice" Porridge pointed out.

The Doctor scoffed a bit, seemingly oblivious, and asked, "What, and it is for yours?"

"Well, duh" Angie rolled her eyes, "He's the Emperor, isn't he? Oh, come on. It's obvious. He looks exactly like he does on the coin, and on the waxwork, except they made him a bit taller, but look, am I the only one paying attention to anything around here?"

"You are full of surprises" Clara smiled at her proudly.

"What are you waiting for?" Ferrin asked Porridge, who shook his head and replied, "I don't want to be Emperor. If I activate that bomb, it's all over".

"And if you don't, three million Cybermen will spread across the galaxy" the Doctor pointed out, "Isn't that worth dying for?"

"Let him finish" Charlotte insisted, adding to Porridge, "But please hurry. We kinda don't want to be killed".

"The bomb, the throne, it's all connected. I just have to say this is Emperor Ludens Nimrod Kendrick, called Longstaff the forty first, the Defender of Humanity, Imperator of known space. Activate the Desolator. And it's done".

The bomb beeped, and began to count down; there was a loud crash from outside. The Cybermen had arrived. "It'll blow in about eighty seconds" Porridge, or Emperor Kendrick rather, said as he got to his feet, "Easily long enough for the Imperial Flagship to locate me from my identification, warp jump into orbit, and transmat us to the State Room".

Everything seemed to warp and shift, and then they were somewhere else, an opulent and high tech spaceship. "Oh yeah, nice ship" the Doctor nodded appreciatively, "Bit big, not blue enough. Listen, there is a large blue box at coordinates six ultra-nineteen P. I need it transmatted up here right away" he told Porridge quickly.

"Right, did you get that?" the Emperor asked, looking over from his throne like seat. The officer nodded and manipulated the controls; the TARDIS appeared in a shimmer of light. Everyone stared out of the shielded windows at the planet far below, and Porridge sighed, "And that's that. Seventy six, seventy seven, seventy eight, seventy nine…" The planet exploded with a loud _boom,_ the shockwave powerful enough to jerk the spaceship and send them all stumbling for a moment.

"Farewell, Cyberiad" Porridge sighed, "You know, it was good to get away. Good to be a person and not to be lonely, or Emperor of a thousand galaxies with everyone waiting for me to tell them what to do".

"Can't you run away again?" asked Angie. She'd never admit it, but she'd grown rather fond of the man; he was funny. Well, Clara's boyfriend was funny too, but in more of a weird way.

"They'll be keeping a close eye on me this time" Porridge told her, "That's what happens when you're Emperor. Loneliest job in the universe".

"You don't have to be lonely" said Clara, and he smiled at her, getting to his feet and walking over to her.

"I don't" he agreed, before taking her hand and asking something that floored her. "Clara, will you marry me?"

"What?"

"He said"- Artie began, but Angie cut him off. "She heard what he said".

"You're smart and you're beautiful, and I've never met anyone like you before….ah, no offence to you, ladies" he added graciously to Laura and Charlotte.

"None taken" they replied in unison.

Porridge looked up at a blushing, flattered and embarrassed Clara. "And being Emperor won't be as hard if you're by my side. And you'd rule a thousand galaxies" he told her.

Of course, the Doctor couldn't keep his thoughts to himself. "This sounds like an actual marriage proposal" he remarked, "Tricky. Now, if you want my advice"-

Clara just shot him a look and said, "You, not one word. This is between me and the Emperor". When he nodded and stepped back, she looked at Porridge and smiled apologetically. "Porridge… I don't want to rule a thousand galaxies" Clara declined; he sighed and let go of her hand.

"Yeah; silly of me" he nodded.

"I'm really sorry".

"But that's stupid" Angie protested, "You could be Queen of the universe. How can you say no to that? When someone asks you if you want to be Queen of the universe, you say yes. You watch. One day, I'll be Queen of the universe" she declared with a smug smile.

Porridge sat once more in his throne, and remarked, "Of course, I could have you all executed, which is what a proper Emperor would do".

"That's what a dictator would do" said Charlotte, "And you're not a dictator. You're too nice" she smiled at Porridge.

"Actually, there is such a thing as benevolent dictatorships, and they're typically…" the Doctor quickly stopped his lecture when Charlotte, Clara, Laura and even the kids gave him pointed, bored or confused looks.

Porridge chuckled and waved them away. "Go on, get out of here, you five, before I change my mind" he joked.

The Doctor, his companions and the kids headed towards the TARDIS; Ferrin suddenly stepped forward and exclaimed, "Wait!" They paused and looked back at her; she looked at Charlotte and said, "Thank you. You saved my life".

Charlotte smiled brightly; she stood straight and gave a salute, which Ferrin returned. "You're welcome. Bye!"

/

When they were all in the TARDIS, the Doctor turned to Charlotte and apologised, "I'm sorry about your arm".

She just chuckled and replied, "I'm sorry about your face…and I'm sorry for being so snarky with you" she added to Angie. To be honest, she still thought the girl was in serious need of an attitude readjustment, but Charlotte had to remember that she could be just as insufferable and as the adult, she ought to be the bigger person.

Angie shrugged, not meeting her eyes. "'S'okay…I guess I was being kind of rude. Clara must have _some_ reason to be friends with you, so…I guess I can trust her" she acknowledged reluctantly. Deciding it was the closest thing she was going to get to a change of heart, Charlotte nodded, accepting the apology.

Artie stepped forward and shook the Doctor's hand. "Thank you for having me. It was very interesting" he smiled. It was amazing how the boy could shrug off all the danger and focus on the brand new experience – he'd make a good explorer.

"My pleasure" the Doctor smiled back, "Thank you for coming; and you" he added to Angie, shaking her hand as well.

"Sorry I said this box was stupid" she said, before following her brother out the door.

"Bye".

"Bye, thanks Clara" Artie called back.

"Thanks, Clara's boyfriend" added Angie. Clara looked mortified at that, the Doctor looked confused; his other two companions were trying and failing to hold back snickers.

Once she'd gotten over her embarrassment – honestly, just because the Doctor had his arm around her shoulders in two of the pictures – Clara turned to the Doctor and smiled. "Thank you, Doctor".

"For what?"

"Kids day out" she answered, adding to Charlotte and Laura, "Though we could have had advanced warning".

"Sorry, Clara" Laura apologised.

Charlotte shrugged and pointed out, "Still, everything worked out in the end, thank goodness. Good night, Clara".

"Good night. See you guys next Wednesday" she smiled, heading for the door.

"Well, a Wednesday, definitely" the Doctor agreed vaguely, "Next Wednesday, last Wednesday…one of the Wednesdays".

Clara shook her head at him, waved to her friends and left. Charlotte and Laura headed off to their own rooms, to rest and chat before the next adventure…the Doctor stayed in the console room, fiddling with the scanner and bringing the images of the three Clara's up on the screen. What was she?

/

A/N: A lot of the following section, which was meant to be its own separate chapter, was inspired by a PM conversation with jg16395. Any ideas that are credited by my character to 'Jane Green' are actually their ideas, and Jane is a pseudonym. Sharon is a pseudonym for another Whovian friend of mine. As for when it takes place, like with most of the breather chapters, it's at an indeterminate point between the episodes.

Midnight Talk 

Charlotte turned over, shoving her pillows into a lump under her head…then she fidgeted and kicked the covers down, tugged them back up again, rolled over. With a frustrated moan, she reached out and picked up the glass of water on her bedside table, taking a sip and flopping back down on the pillows. At long last she fell back asleep, but it seemed like only five minutes before her body demanded attention. Heaving a sigh, Charlotte pulled herself out of the warm covers and padded barefoot over to the door that led to her en-suite bathroom.

She couldn't face going back to bed and trying to sleep…for whatever reason, it just wasn't happening. It probably didn't help that earlier that day, she'd been shot with a stun gun…which was miles better than being shot by a real gun, but she'd still had a few choice words for the guy who fired at her when she woke up. The problem wasn't a lack of exhaustion; it was just that her mind was far too full for sleep to be an option right now.

Putting on her slippers and dressing gown, she pulled open the door to her room and stepped out into the corridor. She felt an urge to talk to someone, but she knew Laura would be sleeping like a log, so that left one other option. Almost as soon as she'd thought of it, the dimly lit corridor slowly grew brighter, but only on one side. Charlotte smiled at the ceiling, whispered "Thanks", and followed the lights.

They led her to the library, and she hesitated. What if the Doctor was busy? Then she shook her head and ventured inside…he probably wouldn't mind. The library was so vast that it took her a while to find him…he was sitting on a plush settee, still in his clothes and reading a novel. He didn't look up as she approached, so she cleared her throat, and he started. "Hey" she said quietly, hovering a few feet away from the settee.

"Oh, hey…what's wrong?" he asked. Charlotte just shrugged, and he guessed, "Can't you sleep?"

She shook her head and finally moved to sit beside him. "I…um…are you busy?"

"Not anymore" he replied, setting the novel aside. It must have been a good book for him to be reading it properly and not speed-reading it, but she couldn't see the title from there. He looked at her expectantly, and she fidgeted, the words getting stuck in her throat. So much for wanting to talk to someone. Charlotte sighed and explained, "I just…have a lot on my mind right now".

"Like?" the Doctor prompted gently.

"…I'm trying to think of…what I'm gonna do when I get home" she explained, "I mean, with my life. I didn't really…have any idea before the whole, getting sucked into a different dimension thing….and I just, I have this _feeling_ that it'll be over soon, the adventures. It was hard enough figuring out what to do with my life before this, but _now,_ I'm gonna be going insane".

"Oh, so it's my fault then, is it?" he asked jokingly; Charlotte gave his shoulder a half-hearted swat and muttered, "I didn't say that. I just…don't know what I'm gonna do. I'm worried about the future, that's why I can't sleep. It doesn't help that I don't really know _when_ I'm getting home…I mean, I trust you to find our universe, and I feel like you're gonna do it soon, but that's all it is, a feeling. Real life is gonna be…difficult, after all this".

"It doesn't have to be" he told her quietly, "Everyone's worried about the future, Charlotte, but it's going to come whether we want it to or not. You might as well take it head on, and you can do anything. You're capable, intelligent, determined…you'll figure out what you want to do and you will be amazing" he smiled proudly.

Charlotte buried her blushing face in her hands. "You are so embarrassing…thanks".

"You're welcome….was there anything else bothering you?"

She hesitated. "Uh, well…since I'm here…do you, um, mind if I ask you…something kinda personal?"

A small frown creased the Doctor's brow as he remarked, "Define 'personal'".

"You don't have to answer it".

"…Go on then. What did you want to ask me?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but…" she took a deep breath and asked, "Do you ever feel like you're damaged?"

He didn't respond at first, but simply frowned – not angrily, more like he was considering it. At last he replied, "It depends on what you mean by 'damaged'".

"I mean…you've gotta admit, you've been through a lot of sh- stuff the last twelve hundred years" she pointed out, "That would mess anyone up. Besides, the only way you seem to deal with it all is just by….running, metaphorically speaking, and that's not really a solution, it's more like a cry for help".

The Doctor didn't say anything for a few minutes. At length, he shrugged and pointed out, less than helpfully, "Well in the words of Kelly Clarkson, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

Charlotte glowered slightly and swatted his shoulder again. "I'm serious. All my friends…well, the ones who watch your show, at least – we all agree that you have, well, _issues._ Emotional baggage, lots of skeletons in the closet, etc".

"Everyone has those".

"Yeah, everyone has a dark side…except maybe Laura…but most people don't have an evil alter-ego, let alone _two"_ Charlotte said pointedly, "Which doesn't really help matters. I mean, no offence, but you really need to see a psychologist, or a therapist or something".

"I have met psychologists" he insisted, "Loads of 'em. Freud, Carl Jung, Pavlov, his dogs were lovely, very well behaved" the Doctor reminisced.

"I can't imagine why" Charlotte retorted sarcastically, before asking, "Did they all tell you that you were messed up as well?"

"Actually, I usually ended up giving _them_ advice. Usually about how to deal with aliens masquerading as patients…Freud and I had quite the adventure trying to deal with this rogue shapeshifter that fed on feelings of depression. It was in 1937, and I'd just landed in"-

"Are you trying to avoid the subject?" Charlotte asked suspiciously.

"What? No…well…look, what made you bring this up all of a sudden?"

She shrugged. "I've been thinking about it for a while….like I said, my friends and I used to talk about this kind of stuff all the time. It just…never seemed like the right time to bring it up".

"And you think…" the Doctor checked his watch, "that a quarter past midnight is a good time?"

"You never sleep anyway".

"Yes, but you do, and you look tired" he said gently.

"I'm fine" she replied stubbornly, dragging a hand over her face, "And besides, you haven't answered my question".

"Which one?" he inquired.

"The first one, the personal…err…on second thoughts, maybe not, you don't have to answer if you"-

"No, hold on. If you really want to have this conversation...then I suppose, the answer is yes. I do sometimes feel like that...but I think anyone can sometimes feel like that. I think what you really mean is whether I think I really _am_ damaged. Let me ask you this, Charlotte – do _you_ think I'm damaged?" he challenged, turning the question back at her.

"I…" she hesitated, not sure what to say. Part of her wanted to bluntly say "Yes", another part wanted to say "No"….at last she gathered herself and replied, "I just don't see how you could go through so much, for so long, without going insane. More insane" she teased a bit, before finishing, "I mean, just from the…the War, you have survivor's guilt and probably PTSD, add that to all the stuff you went through before then…I mean, you've kind of being going darker since your sixth incarnation" she mused, building up a head of steam.

"You were a bit more violent as Six, more manipulative as Seven, and as Eight – well, you were used as a punching bag by the universe, and got amnesia on top of it all….it's no wonder you eventually snapped and went all Time Lord Victorious. In fact, it's a wonder it took until your tenth incarnation for that to happen…at least, that's the first time I can remember it happening. I'm just….I'm worried about you. I'm afraid that if you don't deal with these issues and this…darkness, one day it's gonna take you over and you'll….you won't be _you_ anymore".

The Doctor smiled sadly at her and pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry about me" he murmured, resting his chin on the top of her head as she rested it on his shoulder, "It may not seem like it, but I do have better coping mechanisms than just 'running'. I'm not telling you what they are, though" he smirked at her, before adding "Besides, Time Lords are more equipped to deal with traumatic experiences. When your natural lifespan lasts for centuries, you have to be able to cope with a lot. I've dealt with more than most, to be fair, but I can still cope".

"I guess being an alien would help" Charlotte agreed, pulling away to look at him, "I dunno, I guess I wanted to help as well".

"You _do_ help, Charlotte" he smiled at her, "My friends always help".

She smiled back. "Well, then you're welcome. Um…since we're talking about this sort of stuff anyway, I was wondering…is one of the reasons you like having companions because…you don't like being alone? I mean, cos I got the impression you were sort of lonely as a kid, bit of an outcast, and my friend Sharon thinks that's why you like having people around so much. She said something really nice, you know, I remember her saying that you going through all…well, everything, and still be able to love and have hope and just…be happy, it's inspiring", she smiled, "How strong you are".

The Doctor smiled back, touched. "Thank you…and tell your friend thank you, when you see her".

"Yeah, soon as she's got over the shock that I'm not dead" Charlotte laughed. She preferred to make light of that particular situation, since the alternative was thinking about it seriously and that made her want to cry. "You might be a jerk sometimes, but your our jerk….and best Time Lord" she told him with a grin, before leaning over to peck him on the cheek.

"Best Time Lord, eh?" he grinned back, amused, "I should get that on a t-shirt. So who's the best Doctor?" he inquired.

"I'm not answering that" Charlotte refused, "If you want to know my favourite….well, if you must know, it's you, but don't let that go to your head" she warned.

"Wouldn't dream of it" he promised, "So, you and your friends used to talk about me, did you? What else did you talk about?"

"Hmmm…Jane had this whole theory about how you secretly have a split personality".

"I do" he nodded, and her eyes widened in surprise. Then the Doctor finished, "Eleven of them, to be exact", and smirked. It took her a second to get the joke, but then she burst out giggling and gave him a playful shove.

"Ha, very funny!" she laughed, "But I'm serious, she told me this whole idea she'd had that you…like, you were born with a split personality, with a…I guess a dominant 'good' personality, and a 'bad' personality that you keep suppressed, except it manifests itself in the form of avatars like the Dream Lord and the Valeyard. She reckons that your real name – the one you can't tell anyone – actually refers to both personalities, so you denounced it to try and distance yourself from the dark personality, but you still have to fight it off because it keeps trying to take over, like one of those psychological horror movies".

The Doctor stared at her for a few long moments. "Is this how you and your friends spent your time? Sitting around making up wild conspiracy theories about me?"

Charlotte giggled again. "They're not conspiracy…oh, who am I kidding? Can you blame us, though? Speaking of conspiracies, I can't believe I didn't think to ask this sooner…but does it ever bother you that the silurians make, like, no sense?"

"I think that's the fifth time you've said 'like' in the past three minutes".

"Shut up. I mean…okay, so the Silurians evolved on Earth before humans, and they all hid underground when they thought a meteorite was gonna hit Earth, but it was really the moon. That implies that for billions of years, the Earth had no moon, and the moon is important! It controls the tides, and it protects us from actual meteorites – if it weren't for the moon, there'd be a lot more craters on Earth, and the Silurians might not have evolved in the first place!

"Then there's the chronology; I mean, they're supposed to have hunted primitive hominids, but when the moon finally decided to show up, some of the Silurians went off into space with dinosaurs. Dinosaurs! I mean, what were they doing, hunting on the backs of raptors like some sort of primeval Jurassic Park?" she asked, giggling. The Doctor was chuckling as well.

"Unless they cloned the dinosaurs, and I guess they could have, there couldn't be dinosaurs and primitive hominids existing at the same time. It's like whoever came up with the Silurians in my universe thought that _The Flintstones_ was a documentary" Charlotte finished, and they both laughed…then Charlotte yawned, suddenly feeling much more tired.

The Doctor nudged her gently and muttered, "You should go back to bed".

"No…" she moaned, "I wanna…figure out the dumb… dino-human thing". The Doctor wasn't sure if she meant the disconnect between dinosaurs and humans existing alongside one another – they hadn't, the Silurians had indeed cloned the large reptiles – or if she was referring to the Silurians themselves as 'dino-humans'. Thank goodness Vastra wasn't around.

"You're tired" he prompted, "You need to sleep. You need lots of energy, with all the running we're doing".

Charlotte moaned a bit…she felt like she just wanted to curl up right there and go to sleep…but to be fair, her bed would be a lot comfier, and less likely to disturb her. So she hugged the Doctor one last time, and reluctantly pulled herself to her feet, yawning again. "Mm…night, Doctor…and thanks, for talking with me. It means a lot, knowing you…trust me that much. I used to work in HR, so I know all about confidentiality" she smiled, making a zipped lip motion. Everything they'd talked about that night…well, what happened in the library stayed in the library.

The Doctor smiled and nodded gratefully. "You're welcome…and yes, I do trust you. Good night, Charlotte".

"I trust you as well" she smiled, one last time, before heading off to find her way back to bed. The Doctor watched her leave, and then picked up his book again. A memory floated to the forefront of his mind…Charlotte, her face tearstained, nervously admitting that she wasn't sure if she could trust him…he was glad he'd earned her trust, because she was a great companion, and he felt like she was finally seeing that herself. She'd come a long way in the past seven months – they all had, he mused thoughtfully, content to sit and listen to the TARDIS gently humming around him.


	25. Cancellation

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

Gosh…it's been a while.

I know this won't be the message a lot of you wanted to see…or perhaps it is. In any case, I thought it would be better to give this message sooner rather than later. I know I said that I planned to eventually finish the stories I have put on hiatus, but the truth is, I don't think that I can : (.

My muse has entirely moved onto other things, and my interest in Doctor Who has flagged with the hiatus and the less than stellar quality of the recent episodes. I don't have much hope for the upcoming series, whilst I will possibly give the first couple of episodes a watch, it may be that it isn't a show I'll ever watch as regularly as I once did. I will always consider myself a Whovian at heart, and I don't regret enjoying what was once a fantastic, exciting show with characters I felt invested in…it's just that the investment, for me, has run its course.

I ought to be focusing on real life more than on fanfiction (at least a little bit ;) ) and having to do not one, but two rewrites (Consequences and Alterations) of a show that I no longer have any real passion for, would be time consuming, boring and unsatisfactory. It would affect my writing and your enjoyment. I have decided to cancel both my Doctor Who fanfictions, and I apologise profusely for the inconvenience.

For my cliché 'self-insert plus a friend' fanfic, Alterations, I have received 41 reviews, 14 favourites, and 22 follows. I am grateful for all of them and I'm sorry to anyone who began following the story between when I stopped writing it and this.

For 'The Doctor's Wife AU' series, as a whole, I have received 562 reviews, 231 favourites, and 172 follows. Once again, I am grateful for all of them and sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment.

Instead, allow me to explain what I had planned, as little as it was, for these stories:

Consequences

1 – Ashildr would have chosen, in the end, to remain on Earth for the same reason as in the episode – to deal with the aftermath of the Time Quintet's, mostly the Doctor's, interventions.

2 - The Corsair would have regenerated in 'The Zygon Inversion' whilst saving Flavia from an attack. I planned to have him regenerate into the Shopkeeper from the Sarah Jane Adventures (rest in peace Elisabeth Sladen) because Neil Gaiman and Russel T Davies both had a headcanon of sorts that the Shopkeeper is the Corsair. The new Corsair would have done a much better job at wooing Flavia, who would have finally agreed to try starting a relationship.

3 – I planned to replace Sleep No More (the dud of series 9) with an original chapter involving the Corsair and Flavia tying up loose ends after he realises who he is now, and getting a pet parrot. Parrots are cool (I had to do that).

4 – Rather than Clara taking the chronolock from Rigsy, Emily would insist on taking it. She would have believed herself safe due to simply being able to regenerate, only to discover that there was a high possibility the regeneration wouldn't occur. She would refuse to let any of them watch; the Doctor would run out at the last minute, only to find that she had disappeared. He would angrily confront Ashildr about where his daughter was, but she would protest that Emily was just gone and there was nothing she could do.

5 – The Doctor would still end up trapped in the Confession Dial, whilst the others would be taken directly to Gallifrey. After losing her daughter and then her husband, a grieving Romana would do anything to get either of them back. She, Flavia and the Corsair would plan to find a way to rescue the Doctor from the Confession Dial, and find out where Emily's body could have gone.

6 – They would eventually figure out that they needed to prove there was no Hybrid, or if there was, that it wasn't the Doctor. I never got as far as figuring out exactly _how_ they'd do that, but they would. A thoroughly pissed off Doctor, released from the Dial, would proceed to kill – not exile, simply kill – Rassilon (because sometimes you just can't let your enemies live) and rescue Emily the same way he rescued Clara in canon.

7 – Much like Clara, Emily would be stuck between heartbeats, on the line between life and death. Things would play out much as they did in the episode, but with the Corsair stealing a TARDIS for himself and Flavia. Rather than having to forget Clara (who at this point would be at home, waiting for news), the Doctor would end up having his memories of his time in the Dial removed.

8 – Emily would return to her place of 'death', and with a bit of timey wimey trickery, they would slow time around her so that she was still gone when the Doctor's past-self came out. To their surprise, she actually does regenerate (into a ginger, much to her father's mild annoyance) and insists on leaving straightaway, now far less willing to take risks with time or with herself, after what she inadvertently put her family through.

9 – They would reunite with Clara, and Emily would persuade her to build a life on Earth, that they wanted her to be safe and it could have easily been Clara who died, and she wouldn't have come back. Naturally, Clara would have been sad to see them go, but reluctantly agreed to leave the TARDIS behind. She still wanted them to drop in every now and then for dinner, and they agreed.

10 – After discovering that River had a habit of nicking the TARDIS for her own convenience (much to the Corsair's amusement), the Time Quintet would bid a final goodbye to her; then the Doctor, Romana and Emily would go off in his TARDIS, whilst the Corsair and Flavia would begin adventures in their own TARDIS (which still has a working chameleon circuit).

How to Raise a Time Tot

The only chapter(s) I had planned for this was a suggestion by jg16395, to have the Time Quintet take a trip to Terminus, to meet Nyssa so that Flavia could have a hearts-to-heart with someone who knew what it was like to lose their home planet (apart from her fellow Time Lords/Lady, obviously). I really liked the idea and whilst I never got around to planning it out fully, there would have been fluff ;).

Alterations

Not much would have changed – the girls would have gotten home at the end of The 50th special, after the War Doctor used the 'same software, different case' trick to set his TARDIS to search for their home universe centuries before he actually met them. It would finish a couple of centuries before he met them as well. There would have been an original chapter of them dealing with the aftermath of being away for almost a year.

/

So there you have it, folks. I'm glad that you enjoyed this ride whilst it lasted, and I wish it hadn't ended, but life goes on and things that we thought would be part of it for ages fade away. I enjoyed writing what I did, and I want to leave on a positive note. So thank you so, so much for your reviews, follows and favourites, for your support and your understanding…and once more, for perhaps the final time, vworp on, Whovians.


End file.
